


On Love's Light Wings

by War_of_the_Words



Series: Player 2 [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fantasy elements, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, M/M, Magic, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow To Update, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Time Skips, What Did You Expect, angst???, definitely fluff, everyone will probably included later, i have no schedule
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-18
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-31 15:19:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 44,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8583379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/War_of_the_Words/pseuds/War_of_the_Words
Summary: In a not so different world, everyone is born with a scar, and someone else is born with a scar identical to it. This is the story of how two very different people with two very different minds came together to find that their soulmate wasn't so bad after all.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm player two and I'm to lazy to get my own account lolol. I'm really happy that my other fic was so well received, it was the first one I had ever written so I was nervous, still am. This fic was just an idea floating around in my head, and I'm well aware that we have some pretty amazing soulmate fics in this fandom already, but I decided to throw my hat in the ring. I'm really not sure if I should continue the fic, so feedback would be very much appreciated!

In this world, everyone is born with a scar.

This scar isn’t like any other one might receive, however, this particular blemish is unlike anyone else’s, except one. Once a person completes their sixteenth year of life, part of the blister fades into vivid color; the other part still left disfigured. No one knows why the scars appear, only that everyone has one, and the other half belongs to your soulmate. Once the two of them experienced the event which would spark their relationship, their mark would become whole.

Over the years, people have speculated over the marks, the size of the initial scar, the area on the body it is found, and most importantly, the image the complete pair creates. Most marks are small and easily located on the body, such as a wrist or an ankle, and through extensive research, it is to be believed that no two pairs of soulmarks are the same.

Kudo Shinichi had spent most of his childhood contemplating what his scar could possibly turn into. He was, supposedly, unfortunate enough to have an abnormally large scar, one which stretched across the entire length of his back, so he had no idea what could be created from such a large expanse of skin. He had heard of people who had old poems or phrases of love written into their skin, but the words were usually small enough to only take someone's forearm, the words only being comprehensible to the soulmates. He had also heard that if their soulmate was an artist their greatest work would be engraved on the pair of them; however, the longer he thought of this possibility, the less likely he found it to be.

He had once asked his parents what they thought, his mother was ecstatic to start spouting off theories, of course she hadn’t stopped since, but his father was even less helpful, saying “You will find out soon enough, won’t you?”. Shinichi, being the detective freak-as Sonoko liked to call him-he was, could not help but to try to deduce what his unique image could be. He knew that soulmarks were unique and didn’t even reveal in the same way for different pairs. Some would simply only have one half of the image revealed, in the case of his parents, his father had a piece of parchment running down his calf, his mother had words running down the same place. Their soulmark had been the first poem he had written her, a truly unique sign of love.

When Shinichi woke up on his sixteenth birthday, he had felt a strangely comforting warmth spreading across his entire back. No matter how much he had told himself and everyone around him how excited he was to discover what would lead him to the love of his life, he was afraid as well. Although the scars were meant to lead to his significant other, he had already developed strong feelings for Ran over their shared childhood and he wasn’t sure if he could give her up if she wasn’t his soulmate. Societies had one rule about soulmarks, to not discuss them until you find your pair. Of course, curious children would ask their parents about their scars, but other than family, they should not be discussed. Shinichi always followed that rule. He never asked Ran where her scar was and he never told her where his was. Ever since he realized his feelings for his childhood friend he became fearful of the day where he would either keep her forever or lose her to someone else completely.

After lying in bed contemplating about the biggest moment in his life, he stood up and walked into the bathroom. His parents usually came home from their travels for his birthday, but this year they decided to give him privacy and would call him later in the day. He was thankful for their consideration since a person's sixteenth birthday is one of the most emotional days in someone's life.

As he entered the bathroom, he couldn’t bring himself to look into the mirror, even to look at his face. He slowly brought his head up to stare into his reflection and took note of the mess that was his bedhead instead of the anxiousness in his eyes. He was thankful he had worn a shirt to bed last night, it was a hurdle he had put up for himself, but it was also a guard against his worst fears. He slowly took his shirt off, still not turning around. His heart was beating faster than it ever had, even though he had faced much harder situations, ‘ _Like murderers_ ’ his brain helpfully provided. Mustering his courage he slowly turned around, closing his eyes. As he slowly opened them, he turned his head so he would be able to see the reflection of his back in the mirror. What he saw he could only describe as incredible.

Just like the scar, his soulmark ran across the entirety of his back, there was no color covering it, so most of the scar remained, only delicate black lines, like the ink from an artist's pen, glided across his skin, forming lines which crossed over one another in a way which could only be described as beautiful. As Shinichi slowly took note of every curve of every line, he forced himself to look at the mark in full. “ _Oh my God_.” Shinichi breathed out the words, it was the best he could do. Starting at the tops of his shoulders and flowing to his tailbone, the image of a folded pair of wings danced across his back. “Their almost life like.” he unconsciously mumbled as he touched his shoulder. He stared at his back in wonder, all previous apprehension had vanished. In that moment, Shinichi decided that he didn't care who his soulmate was if their bond could produce such an incredible image. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was always going to accept his match, after all, they _were_ soulmates, he was just a romantic at heart.

His phone buzzed, pulling him from his trance. Ran had texted him to say she was in front of his door, it was still a school day after all. He suddenly became embarrassed for staring in the mirror for such a long time and rushed to finish getting ready.

By the time he had arrived at his the front door, his hair had been quelled and he got his school uniform on. “Happy birthday Shinichi!” Ran exclaimed as he opened the door. Shinichi’s heart fluttered traitorously in his chest at her bright smile. ‘ _Ran might still be my soulmate_ ’ he thought, ‘ _we might not have had our moment yet_.’ Shinichi’s doubts returned to him, but he had enough experience to not show how troubled he was on his face.

“Thanks Ran, and good morning.” he replied, avoiding eye contact. Ran must have mistook this as embarrassment since she only giggled in return. The rest of the walk to school was conducted in the usual manner, playful banter, trying not to anger her enough to get hit. He was thankful Ran did not ask about his soulmark, it was rude in the first place, and Ran certainly wasn't rude, but he was thankful nonetheless.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

On a different day, on a different birthday, in a different part of Tokyo, Kuroba Kaito woke up on the twenty first of June very reluctantly. Unlike Shinichi’s faith in the soulmarks, Kaito only held disdain for his scar. Ever since he was little, he did everything he could to hide the scar from people’s eyes. It was large and ugly across his back, the flesh discolored and prominent, forcing him to always wear a shirt, even when he swam he had to cover his back. Even though the young magician seemed to flirt with anything and everything, leading most people to believe he would relish in his half of his soulmark, he was the exact opposite.

After rolling out of bed, he didn't even glance at the mirror as he went about his morning routine. He was thankful his birthday had fallen on a Sunday this year. Returning to his room, he checked his phone and saw he had two messages, one from his mother telling him to have a happy birthday and that she would call later. The second text had been from Aoko, she said she would be making breakfast for him so he could come over when he was ready. He was thankful she hadn't just yelled across from her house instead.

Thinking about it, Kaito reflected on how sincerely he appreciated Aoko. She had listened honestly when he complained about his scar, regardless of the social norms, and she told him how much he would be grateful for it later in life. That was how they had discovered they wouldn't be soulmates, no matter how much Kaito wished they had been. After showing Aoko his scar in order to prove his point, Aoko had pulled her hair up to show Kaito the small discoloration on the nape of her neck. He had been disappointed, but he knew not to pursue his affections since Aoko truly believed in the soulmarks.

After throwing on some decent clothes, he headed next door to a surprisingly delightful breakfast full of Kaito’s favorite breakfast and not so breakfast foods. Not only was the food great, but for once he and the Nakamoris got through a meal without one of them starting a rant or Kaito playing some kind of trick. He truly felt touched on how sincerely they cared for him.

“Hey Aoko.” Kaito started after helping said girl wash the dishes, “You don't have to if it would make you uncomfortable, but, would you look at my soulmark for me?” A blush covered his face as he faced downward, embarrassed to meet Aoko’s shocked gaze if the stillness was anything to go by. He slowly returned his gaze upward as he heard her rustling with a towel, drying off her hands.

“Sure Kaito, let’s just finish here and then we’ll head to the bathroom, okay?” Her tone was sweet and Kaito once again wished that she had been his soulmate and not some other random person that he had never met.

“Right.” he replied so softly he was afraid that Aoko hadn't heard him, ‘ _Does it really matter if she did_?’ he thought to himself.

After finishing putting away the dishes, the pair of friends headed into the main bathroom so Aoko and Kaito could get a look at his soulmark. No matter what people would say about the situation, Aoko would be the only person to see Kaito’s soulmark.Since the day he revealed to her the bane of his existence, she was the only one he could be comfortable around besides his family. “You ready?” Aoko questioned softly. It was strange to Kaito that his usually loud mouthed friend was being so gentle with him. It surprised him that he was being so timid when he had lived with that scar all of his life. ‘ _Well isn’t that the problem_?’ Kaito asked himself, ‘ _That the scar isn’t a scar anymore_.’ Realizing he had become lost in thought, he met Aoko’s worried gaze.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, Ahoko.” He finally said, a smile that wasn’t meant to look quite so pained was painted across his lips. Aoko rolled her eyes, but the worry could still be seen in her eyes.

“If you say so, Bakaito.” her smile was more genuine than Kaito’s, and he was thankful for it. Kaito turned away from Aoko so his back faced her. He slowly lifted his shirt over his head, only because he was nervous, even Aoko could see the slight tremor in his hands as he clutched desperately at the fabric. As soon as the piece of cloth was over his head, Kaito dropped the article of clothing like it had just insulted his family. Behind him he heard Aoko gasp.

“Well?” He asked timidly, fear was the only thing keeping him from turning his head to face toward Aoko and the mirror. He stood their for a while longer before he heard Aoko begin to make sputterings of possible words.

“Kaito...I...I can’t really…describe it.” Aoko finally managed to get out.

“What?” Kaito was shocked, ‘ _Why can’t Aoko describe it? Is it that awful_?’ Worried, Kaito turned to look in the mirror and was blown to speechlessness.The entire expanse of his scar was turned into an ombre of color. High upon his shoulders was a pure white, like freshly fallen snow, which transitioned into a light yellow, which grew into an orange and finally, red, a deep, early morning red that trailed into the small of his back, and down to his tailbone. “ _What_?” Kaito breathed when his tongue began to work again, “What _is_ this?”

“I don’t know,” Aoko replied in the same breathless tone Kaito had spoken in “but it’s beautiful.” Her hand was outstretched like she wanted to touch it and her eyes were shining with such utter amazement, but Kaito couldn’t see it at all.

“ _Beautiful_?” Kaito was almost yelling the word, causing Aoko to jump at the sudden increase of volume, “Aoko, how could this mess ever be _beautiful_?” Kaito felt the frustration building in his chest and his eyes stung with the beginning of tears. “I waited for _sixteen years_ for that scar to become something meaningful, and all I get are some _pretty colors_.” He faced Aoko directly, holding her eyes with a glare full of unshed tears. “Sixteen years, Aoko, and I have no guarantee that this will ever mean anything more than a slight possibility.” And with that, Kaito grabbed his shirt, pulling it back over his head with a ferocity and stormed out of the bathroom door.

“Kaito, wait!” Aoko called after him, rushing to meet him at the front door, but he had already pulled on his shoes and was halfway out the door. All Aoko could do was stand there as her door slammed and her best friend ran into his house, only allowing his tears to fall after the door to his bedroom was locked behind him.

The rest of the day, Kaito cursed his luck and hoped that his supposed soulmate was gifted with a better image than Kaito’s, but then, he didn’t really care about them, did he? No, Kaito was determined to never fall in love with his soulmate, no matter who they were.

Oh, but how little both Kaito and Shinichi knew about their soulmate, and how little they knew about the trouble which would follow each of them like the plague. However, it will yet be awhile before the thought’s which linger in their minds would become blown away and only the clear beating of wings would remain in their ears.


	2. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so they met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for all of your positive feedback! It's truly inspiring. I hope you'll continue to read!

“Kaito!” A piercing yell broke through the magician’s early morning grogginess, “ Breakfast!” Ah yes, how absolutely _wonderful_ it was to be woken every morning by his best friend yelling across houses to his **closed** window. Kaito slowly sat up, bidding the rest of the peaceful morning goodbye, stretched, then walked to the window to give a wave of acknowledgement.  
It had been months since his birthday and the wound left by his outburst still lingered, no matter how much they both tried to deny it. Of course, becoming Kaitou KID was also a strain on their relationship, but Aoko didn't need to know that. Kaito still despised his soulmark, and, even though he still flirted - doubly so as KID - with many people, he refused anyone the chance to worm their way into his heart. That was most likely the reason for his pointless rivalry with Hakuba, besides said detective’s accusations about being the elusive phantom thief. 

When Akako had arrived at school and charmed every student, Kaito had been an exception. That was how he had caught Akako’s attention and how she discovered his alter ego. Even though he denied every single claim, she still talked to Kaito about witches and how idiotic it would be for him to keep denying his soulmark. “You know Kuroba,” she would usually start, “ witches only charm people until they find their soulmate,we aren't _all_ evil, so I can't comprehend how you always manage to avoid my spell.”

“Maybe you aren't a very good witch.” would always be Kaito’s reply. Then, Akako would scoff and turn up her nose.

“I'm an excellent witch, thank you very much, but that isn't the issue. You have a major lock on your heart, Kuroba, and it isn't healthy. You know, witches used to be a popular source of answers for soulmate troubles. “ Kaito jumped on his seat. ‘ _There's no possible way she could know my soulmark, right_?’ Panic was coursing through his veins and a cold sweat creeped onto his neck. Akako’s eyes widened in surprise as she watched Kaito start to break down. “What Kuroba, afraid of your soulmark?” Her eyebrow quirked upward and an amused look crossed her face. “ If you were worried, no, I can't see what your soulmark is, I don't know where it is, I can only find out like the normal people do.” She stared intently as Kaito visibly relaxed, his shoulders dropping into a more relaxed state as he breathed out a sigh. “ You know,” she began a giant as Kaito turned to face her, “You really shouldn't be so afraid of your soulmark, it truly is a wonderful thing.” Her voice was soft, almost like she was consoling him. A soft smile appeared on her lips as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “In some ways, soulmarks are more magic than all other kinds of magic combined.”

Kaito reflected on that conversation all through breakfast with the Nakamoris. He felt bad intruding on the family time he used to feel so welcome to since he was the focal point of the majority of their collected woes. “Thanks for the meal, Aoko.” he stood up quickly, taking his plate over to their sink.

“Where do you think you're going, Bakaito.” Aoko stood and planted her hands firmly on the table. “You have barely coming over nowadays, and when you do, you only stay to eat!” Kaito didn’t pause as he left his plate in the sink and walked back past the miffed girl toward the door. He stopped to put his shoes on and turned to look at Aoko as he did.

“I promised to meet Jii-chan today to help him with a project he’s been planning.” He almost felt disgusted how easily the lie rolled off of his tongue. ‘ _It wasn’t a complete lie_.’ he thought to himself, ‘ _Just not the complete truth_ ’. The truth was that he had been planning something, not Jii. He was quite excited about his next heist, in fact, it should be his greatest one yet. The Suzuki conglomerate was showcasing their lucky gem, the _Black Star_ , for a time, and that was a prime target for him and the strange organisation. He was determined to get his hands on it first in the most flashy, spectacular way possible. He was pulled from his thoughts as Aoko huffed.

“If it was Jii I can understand, I guess.” She had a pout on her face, clearly displaying her displeasure at the situation. “It’s just,” she let out a sigh, “you have been so distant lately, ever since…” She let her sentence trail off and Kaito didn’t need to hear the rest to guess what she meant. He knew he had become distant, but he couldn’t afford to keep Aoko close anymore ‘ _For her safety_ ’ he told himself. ‘ _Yeah right_.’ a different part of his brain said. He truly loved Aoko like a part of his family, but after the soulmark debacle, he hadn’t trusted her completely. He knew she had done nothing to earn his distrust, but he had to put his frustration somewhere and, as much as he hated it, Aoko had been the most viable option until he had found a release in putting on these heists.

“I’m really sorry Aoko, I promise I’ll stay longer next time, I swear.” He stared directly into her eyes, trying to convey his sincerity in his statement. He truly wanted to spend more time with his childhood friend, it was just so difficult nowadays. Between school, planning and putting on heists, he barely had anytime for himself, let alone his best friend. “I gotta go Aoko, I’ll see you later.” and with that he had walked out the door and broke into a run toward the Blue Parrot.

As he jogged he thought about how much being KID had changed him. The truth came about shortly after his birthday, almost like his father had planned for Kaito’s frustration. Being KID had helped immensely with his confused feelings about his soulmark and his unwillingness to find his soulmate. Simply put, being KID was an excuse for not seeking out whoever held the other half of his scar. Just because they were destined to be together didn;t mean they would call the police if they found out the “love of their life” was an internationally wanted criminal. He was relieved to have the pressure of the whole situation taken off of his shoulders, even if it meant that he had the new pressure of taking down his father’s killers. “Now’s not the time to think about that.” he told himself, “Let’s just focus on stealing that jewel.”

~~♡♤♡~~

Shinichi’s life had been flung into the deep end. Currently, he wasn’t Shinichi, hadn’t been Shinichi for quite a while, actually, he was a six year old named Edogawa Conan, and he couldn’t be more frustrated. That night, not only had he lost his identity, but he lost his hope that his childhood crush could possibly be his soulmate. After creating his new identity and was introduced to Ran, he had asked her were her soulmark was, the opportunity to find out had been to tempting for him to ignore. Believing he was just a curious child, she had told him that she had a small, round scar resting just below her collarbone. He replied like she expected a child to, but he was crushed on the inside. He had hoped that his feelings wouldn’t have been in vain, but he still held hope that his soulmate would be an incredible person, even if his best friend couldn’t be his. 

Another struggle was his constant battle to prevent Ran from seeing his soulmark. He had hoped it would revert back to a scar when he shrunk, but the universe seemed to be against him. The wings were still folded against his back, the black lines bold against his skin. He loved his soulmark, loved whoever held his other half, but having to hide it so ferociously was building frustration in his chest. He had to continue making excuses to keep Ran from bathing him, a situation which was embarrassing enough, and it hurt that he had to lie to Ran like this, more so than he already did with hiding his identity.

He had been living with the Mouris for a couple months before an extremely interesting case came about. Sonoko’s family, the Suzuki conglomerate, had asked for “The Great Detective” Mouri Kogoro’s help protecting a jewel in their possession. At first, Conan wasn’t interest in pursuing the international criminal 1412, but the heist note which was sent out certainly caught his attention. That is why he was currently on his way to the top of the Haido City Hotel. Like he had told Agasa-Hakase when he asked him to pull some of his dad’s files, this crazy thief had caught his attention. 

As he made his opened the door to the roof access, he breathed in the slightly chilled air. He sauntered over to the edge of the building, unafraid of the height, set down his fireworks, and smirked. When his phone rang, he pulled it out to talk the professor. As they discussed his father’s notes on the thief, he felt a strange warmth creep down his spine. He followed an instinctual need to turn around and he watched as a man dressed formally in white descended from the sky.

He had appeared so quietly and gracefully that for a second, Shinichi’s heart stopped, oh, that was something, he felt like _Shinichi_ , not Edogawa Conan. Adrenaline began to course through his veins as he came face to face with the elusive phantom thief, and he couldn’t help but feel excitement at the prospect of facing this new opponent. “Kaitou KID!” Agasa had said through the phone. ‘ _Kaitou KID_ ’ Shinichi echoed, ‘ _It’s a pleasure_.’. He examined KID’s smirk, it wasn’t so different than Shinichi’s own look, the look Ran told him he had when he had figured out a case. He hung up his phone as the thief leaped down to the same level as Conan. The shrunken detective began to analyze the looming figure, it couldn't be _threatening_ , not in a silk cape and top hat, and noticed how young the thief actually looked. As the figure walked closer, he turned back around to set off his makeshift flare.

“Yo, kid,” the thief finally spoke, “What are you doing at a place like this?” Conan lit the end of the small rocket and smirked, ‘ _How disappointingly easy_.’ he thought he turned back to the caped man as the firework went off.

“Fireworks!” he exclaimed in his childish voice. He faced over the edge once again to watch the helicopters fly closer to the building. ‘ _Far too easy_.’

~~♡♤♡~~

“Look!” the young boy exclaimed, “A helicopter has spotted us!” Kaito smirked, ‘ _This is no ordinary kid. How interesting_.’ A smirk crossed his face. This kid was amusing, Kaito would give him that, and he clearly was more intelligent than he was letting on. 

“Kid, you’re not an ordinary brat.” he told the young boy. The kid had to be elementary age, and unless Nakamori had been more clever than Kaito had anticipated and sent him as a decoy, this kid had solved his note.

“Edogawa Conan,” the boy, Conan, turned to him, “I’m a detective.” ‘ _Oh great_ ,’ was Kaito’s first thought, ‘ _another one_.’ “Shouldn’t you be worried,” He turned his attention back to the small child, “Kaitou KID-san?” ‘ _This kid is underestimating me_.’ Kaito thought, ‘ _Well, how about I show him what the great Kaitou KID is made of_.’ He withheld a smirk he so desperately wanted to show, and pulled out his _borrowed_ police radio. ‘ _Let the show begin_.’


	3. Pitch Black Men and a Favor to Remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On a mystery train, a partnership is formed, and hopefully, for longer than for one favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UGHHHHHH, so so so so sorry for the late update, but I participate in my school's theatre program and this was show week;;;;; I hope you can forgive me for my lateness and GIANT time skip;;;; the plot progress exactly as it does in actual canon until this point, so I hope it doesn't frustrate you to much ^^;;;

He had been completely been fooled on April Fool’s day, and when he thought he had been more prepared to face the thief on the boat, KID’s “prank” had shocked Conan enough to allow him to slip away. What kind of gentleman thief pretended to disrobe a lady anyway? He at least found solace in the fact that the police had found his getaway glider and the thief had most likely swam back to shore. Time had flown by for the shrunken detective after that and it seemed like the thief had begun to become more and more of a staple in his new life. After that first heist, the Suzuki family seemed obsessed with catching the magic criminal, particularly Sonoko and her great uncle Jirokichi. Apparently when the thief made an attempt against the Suzukis, aka when Jirokichi sent out a challenge, the Mouris and their charge were just expected to show up as well, even when people stole KID’s name or when they were somewhere where they didn't even expect KID to appear.

 

Over the months that had past since their first encounter, Conan had developed a more refined image of the criminal and, strangely, it was quite a pleasant one. While most criminals were heartless and manipulative, KID seemed to hold a genuine interest in making sure his horde of crazed fans were given a truly spectacular show. His tricks were designed to obtain his target, but they were grandiose enough for regular people to enjoy. Despite his original annoyance at the thief, he realized that he too enjoyed the elaborate displays of magic, and it was truly a shame that he had to deduce them, it would have been much more enjoyable if he could just watch them like a normal person, but a crime was being committed, and the “KID Killer” had a reputation to uphold. Really, how did those thousands of fans not think it strange that a six year old could just deduce these magic tricks when the police couldn’t, it was strange, but Conan was thankful for their negligence all the same.

 

Anyway, their unique experiences had been an unexpected delight that Shinichi was able to enjoy as Conan. The thief never seemed to doubt his intellect, heck, the thief had tasered him one time just to keep him out of a heist, and he might hold a slight grudge for that, but it was satisfying to know that he wouldn’t always be treated like a child. The police force even allowed him to work closely with then when KID was involved, bless poor Nakamori-keibu’s heart, he just couldn't seem to deduce the notes himself. Shinichi held a great respect for the thief, though he would never say that out loud, and he would constantly wonder how similar their situations are to one another, hiding themselves behind extreme personas, though he couldn’t vouch for KID. One thing was for certain, he trusted the criminal, ironically, more than he might trust the police if he needed help with a certain group of people, an idea that he might need to recognize soon.

 

The latest challenge the KID Killer has to face is KID on the Bell Tree Express. Even though the train was only scheduled to run once a year, this year was different. The extra run wasn’t for a special occasion, however, well, maybe it was. Did running the train to lure out an internationally wanted phantom thief count as a special occasion? Conan couldn’t find it in himself to care. Right now he and Haibara had a major problem on their hands and preparations had to be made for keeping her safe, and a certain smug top hat was needed for those.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Kaito’s life was finally starting to look up. The event’s of nearly a year ago on his birthday had finally started to be forgotten thanks to both Kaito and Aoko’s efforts to make things normal again. After a few months, Aoko had broken down and begged Kaito to let them talk about it, she could see how much that argument had ripped them apart and she wanted to keep the closeness their relationship originally had. He had agreed that the things left unsaid had gone on for too long and stayed after eating dinner one night so that they could talk about it. Kaito had poured out all of his growing fears, how he would never be able to find his soulmate, how he would never be able to have their moment, how in the end, he didn’t _want_ to find them. Aoko had listened quietly until he had finished, then told Kaito how she would believe in his soulmate for him, he had snorted at the thought of it. Aoko then began to talk about her soulmark, he had missed her birthday due to the _Blue Birthday_ fiasco, so they never had time to fulfill their promise of viewing each other's soulmarks. Aoko had grabbed a hair tie and pulled her hair up into a bun on the top of her head, still giving her messy hair no semblance of structure, and turned around to show Kaito her nape. Where her scar was previously located, there was a life-like image of what appeared to be he an old, brass key. The bottom of the scar had remained; however, top of the scar had been replaced with the bottom of a classic skeleton key. The design of the lock was like nothing Kaito and all of his lock experience, had ever seen. It started normally, but then the two prongs curved to form a heart-like shape. It looked beautiful a and it felt like Aoko, even though nothing about his friend felt old or antique-ish it felt right to see it there.

 

After that night they had been able to be more open with each other, swapping troubles and anecdotes about things they experienced when the other wasn't there. Kaito was grateful. He had missed his best friend, she was a constant in his life, and that was something he had needed after his birthday revelation.

 

Another comfort Kaito had found was his nighttime persona. As time progressed, he found himself enjoying his heists more and more. Not only was he able to outrageous tricks on such a large scale, but he could compete against some marvelous opponents. Despite his complaining, Hakuba provided a challenge when he was able to show up at heists, the Brit knew how to look for signs of the magicians appearance and where he would be likely to appear. His task force were less adept them Hakuba, but he had to commend them for their effort. They always pursued him with a viciousness only the law enforcement could muster, he trusted that those men and women would fight against him with all they had and would be able to put him back in line if he ever crossed it.

 

His favorite rival, however, had to be the young boy he had met one night on a rooftop. He had suspected Nakamori-keibu to figure out his note, or maybe even the Beika police, or that weird detective they contacted to help, but certainly not the boy tailing said detective, what, like he wasn’t keeping surveillance on his target. He had been pleasantly surprised to find the kid on the roof, impressed when he set off his makeshift flare. At first, he had written the encounter off as a plan Nakamori had implemented to throw KID off guard, but as he continued to see the young detective, he understood that the boy’s plans were simply his own, and he was brilliant. He wouldn’t hesitate to poke fun at Hakuba for letting a first grader over take him intellectually, but he didn’t want to be arrested quite yet.

 

Over their meetings, he had seen the boy develop a plans and deduce who were fake KIDs, he’s seen the boy discover the secrets behind some of his tricks, impressive, yet they made Kaito bitter, he had worked hard on those, and most of all, he saw the boy’s impressive belief in good. He wasn’t like Hakuba who believed only the law could be just, but bent the rules sometimes, something he would soon come to find was more true than he knew. Heck, the boy had “let him go” when he discovered who he was when he received the SOS from Jirokichi to save his dog, Lupin, or the other time he was “let go” after he saved the KID’s at Kichiemon’s mansion, and know that he thought about it, there had been quite a few of those kinds of encounters. The kid was definitely more fun to be around than Hakuba and he looked forward to challenges from the Suzuki syndicate since he could face the Meitantei of all of his detectives.

 

That’s why when he received news that the crazy old man was sending KID a challenge to steal a jewel on his “Mystery Train” of all things, he was excited that he could face his small rival once again. He spent weeks developing a cover story and plan with Jii. He knew he had to be thorough with his plans since the tiny detective easily saw through the tiniest of flaws.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Kaito and Jii’s arrival on the train went as smoothly as they could hope he even set up his backup hang glider in the rear car, but from there, everything went downhill. It was nothing they did, of course it wouldn’t be, but some schmuck just had to go and murder someone and of course the killer had to be someone in their car. And once there is a murder, there is sure to be a tiny detective ‘ _Who really needs a parent or guardian._ ’ he bemused once he saw the Conan and his group of friends. He had hoped that the kid would do whatever it is that he did at murder scenes, then go get his guardian(?) to solve the case. He did have one moment of panic, however, when the kid made him leave Jii alone for a few moments so he could run down the hall ‘ _Is this really necessary?_ ’ he had thought, trying to keep the image of the female caretaker while running. Even though the boy was only, what, about six?, Kaito felt that the boy knew what he was doing, and everyone else could sense a little of that too, which should be worrying since a child shouldn't know how to solve a crime at the scene of a murder.

 

The murder was solved quite quickly thanks to Sleeping Kogoro and his little helper, how did they communicate so well when the man always seems to be annoyed at his charge?, and an air of relief flooded through all of the suspects, which didn't last long. An announcement said that there was a fire in one of the cats. ‘ _Great,_ ’ Kaito was exasperated ‘ _another crime for the little detective to solve._ ’ At this point, Kaito just wanted to get off this stupid train, screw the jewel, he was exhausted and needed a nap.

 

He was about to push the disguised Jii toward the front cars like his peers had already run to, but his “Meitantei” had stopped him in his tracks. Kaito panicked a little, the boy couldn't have found out, right? Kaito hadn't even done anything remotely suspicious. “You’re Kaitou KID and his accomplice, right?” Emergency sirens were blaring in Kaito’s head, ‘ _Stupid kid and his intelligence._ ’ Kaito groaned internally.  
“Is that a joke?” He replied in his womanly voice, holding the tone any concerned adult might.

 

“The maid, Sumitomo-san, is KID, and the old lady is the accomplice.” His voice was light and childlike, a voice, Kaito knew, the boy reserved for feigning innocence, strange, considering how he should be. “She doesn’t seem to be able to mimic Komino-san’s voice, though.” the tiny detective continued, “Kid was using ventriloquism to make up for that, and she was lipsynching while trying to mask it with the veil of her hat.”. Kaito was becoming concerned that his disguise was about to be removed without a shred of mercy. ‘ _I would’t expect anything less from tantei-kun_ ‘ he thought.

 

“I see. That’s why you made me run down the corridor.” ‘ _It wasn’t necessary._ ’ Kaito mused, ‘ _At least, for the purpose he framed it for._ ‘

 

“Yeah. I figured the old lady wouldn’t be able to speak on her own. And all the passengers rescued from that fire are pyrophobic, but the old lady happily lit up her pipe.” He had to say, Kaito was impressed that the boy was able to pick up on of the small clues that were there, Kaito had completely forgotten the pyrophobia would affect smoking habits. “Anyway, be a little grateful. I didn’t press you guys when you were trying to avoid getting involved in the case by saying you didn’t see anything.” ‘ _Well,_ ’ Kaito thought, ‘ _I appear to have been caught in the act._ ‘ The revelation didn’t leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth like it would have if Hakuba had discovered his disguise to early, but it was as if he had been found in a game of hide-and-seek, disappointing, but joyful.

 

“Well?” Kaito dropped the act, “What sort of favor are you trying to buy?” The boy probably wanted Kaito to pull a specific kind of heist, or maybe a request to not go after a certain jewel. When the boy spoke next, Kaito was alarmed at the raw command in his voice.

 

“Disguise as this woman, and shake off the bad guys going after her!” The boy spoke with such an intensity that Kaito became concerned, though he maintained a look of boredom on his face. “Your conversation with them will be provided through an earpiece, directly from her waiting in a separate room.” The boy’s plan certainly was through, and Kaito had no reason not to help the boy. He might be a criminal, but he had a heart, something only his tantei-kun seemed to acknowledge the most readily, especially at a time like this.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

After the train had pulled into a station, Conan breathed a sigh of relief. Organizing such an elaborate plan in order to help Haibara had taken a lot of work, and a lot of pieces were needed to make the machine work. As he walked off the train, he called his second cellphone, one he had specifically requested to have in order to communicate with KID, and thank all the stars in heaven that the thief had agreed to help him, they would have been at an impasse without him. The phone ringed for a couple seconds before KID answered, and immediately started yelling at him. It was mostly unintelligible, but he did pick up on keywords such as “insane” and “almost died”. “Sorry, sorry.” Conan started, though he had to hold back a chuckle that bubbled in his throat, “Sounds like things heated up a bit.” 

 

“I didn’t sign up for this. What was with those dangerous guys?!” KID sounded angry, but also slightly concerned. ‘ _Touching._ ‘ Conan thought. The thief really was a good guy. “If I hadn’t hid my hang glider in the luggage car just in case, I’d have been fried!”

 

“Well, since it’s _you_ we’re talking about, I just figured you’d be prepared.” Conan felt a little guilty about not telling KID that he should be wary about the men, but he didn’t want to scare the thief away. “Anyway, consider yourself out of my debt.”

 

“Damn right I am!” KID yelled into the phone, and this time, Conan couldn’t hold back his small laugh.

 

“And remember to return that phone to the Detective Agency.” Conan finished. He abruptly hung up the phone, but let his mind linger on the thief. Their conversations had always been interesting, and Conan would love to be able to chat like normal people. Well, he guessed that the conversations were interesting because they weren't normal, but being able to talk while not chasing down either KID or the Black Org would be nice. He also hoped that KID would act like Conan suspected he would and keep the phone, he pushed the phantom a little too far, and he knew the thief deserved a favor in return.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

“Hey!” ‘ _That brat…_ ' Kaito started pulling the prosthetic off of his face. “Out of _your_ debt?” Kaito was annoyed that the boy had put him in so much danger, but the plan he had formulated worked beautifully, the thief had to admit. “ You’re in _my_ debt now, Meitantei.” And Kaito knew he would make good on that promise, and what better way to make sure that the tiny detective would remember that then to just hold onto his- apparently second-cellphone and bother him until he decided what his favor would be.


	4. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan makes mistakes and KID makes an important decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I tried to update fairly quickly this time, though the chapter isn't much;;; Player 1 is uploading this so blame them for any mistakes! JK don't they're fragile

 

 **K** - _Yo, tantei-kun_  
Seen 23:48  
**K** - _Ehhhh?! You’re up this late!? Young boys should get plenty of sleep in order to grow_ ;D

“I hate him.” Conan grumbled. He had convinced Ran to let him spend the night at Agasa-hakase’s that night on the idea that he had to work on a school project with Haibara. True that he had to work on a project, false that the project was for school. It had been a month or two since the mystery train fiasco and they needed to make progress against the Black Org. Discovering that Amuro is actually part of the secret police had allowed for an expansion in possible plans against the Org, but getting there would still take a while.

At this point in time, however, the shrunken detective was focused on the nuisance communicating with him through his phone, his Shinichi phone. KID had kept the cell phone like he had hoped, but he still hadn’t asked for a favor in return. It was annoying him, to say the least, but not only had the thief not reacted as he had hoped, but Conan was sure that KID was determined to become the biggest annoyance known to man, not the greatest phantom thief. At first, Conan was glad the thief was keeping an open line of communication, but he soon discovered that the Moonlight Magician only texted him when he was bored, his evidence? He only received messages during school hours or late at night, like now.

“Something wrong Shinichi?” Agasa questioned from the kitchen. Conan opened his mouth to respond, but Haibara decided to answer for him.

“His boyfriend is texting him again.” Conan turned red. ‘ _Why does she have to torment me like this?_ ’ he thought. Ever since she found out that KID was texting him, she decided that they talked more often than a common couple.

“Would you quit that Haibara! It’s KID, Hakase. He keeps texting me.”

“I understood who Haibara meant.” Agasa calmly replied.

“Hakase!” Conan had to be the color of a tomato at this point. Did they really talk that often?

 **K** - _Come on~~~ Don’t ignore me~~~_  
**C** \- _Don’t text me this late_  
**K** - _But you always answer~~_  
**K** - _And you’re fun to talk too_  
**C** \- _Is that a compliment?_  
**K** \- _Most definitely a compliment._  
**C** \- _So I should be flattered?_  
**K** \- _You wound me tantei-kun_ D;  
**C** -  _Good, that means I’m doing my job_

“You’re grinning, Kudo-kun.”

“What?” Conan turned his head to look at Haibara, who was smirking at smirking at him.

“You started grinning.” She looked so smug, was he smiling? He was, crap. Haibara will make fun of him for that for at least the rest of the week.

“So what if I like talking to him?” He huffed and looked back at the phone.

 **K** \- _Well it’s_ my _job to make sure you feel bad for doing_ your _job_

Conan laughed, which made Haibara do a little smug laugh, ensuring that it became at least two weeks of merciless teasing.

“Well, once you’re done chatting with your boyfriend, I need you down in the lab.” Conan’s ears perked, he was rarely allowed down there unless… “I’ve made a little progress, but I need some blood samples before I can confirm anything.” His grin returned. It was almost sad how such a piece of news could make him so happy, but being him again would be better than a million Christmases.  Haibara made her way toward the stairs, giving him a little wave as she closed the basement door behind herself.

“Jeez…” he breathed, Haibara was her own kind of handful, something Conan had learned to accept a long time ago. He trusted Haibara as much as his own parents, he had even allowed her to see his soulmark, an early theory as to why he didn't die from the poison. He started reminiscing about the first time she saw it.

_“Kudo-kun.” Haibara’s words were gentle, breathtaken, and he could feel her cool fingers trace the thin, black lines of his wings. He shivered slightly at the touch, but he didn't mind if Haibara saw them. It was exhausting, always having to be extra careful about showing his back. More than once, Ran became suspicious of his identity since he never showed his back, much like she knew Shinichi to do, so he relished in the fact that he could allow himself to be comfortable with someone seeing his soulmark, even he shouldn't have let her._

_“I've never seen a soulmark like this before.” Haibara’s words pulled him back to the present. “ If it's this big on your back now, I can't imagine what it would looks like on your normal body. Is there still scar here?” As her tone relaxed, he heard the tiny scientist’s curiosity burst through. Her hands continued to wander across his back in what only could be described as a studying way, gentle, but intent. The attention was beginning to make him embarrassed._

_“Haibara,” Conan said, stilling the hands on his back,” I'm glad my soulmark intrigues you, but do you think that it has anything to do with my reaction to the apotoxin?” He listen to Haibara hum thoughtfully._

_“Even though I was a lead scientist and sometimes worked with our small medical team, I was never allowed to study soulmarks much. In fact, as a sign of loyalty to the Organization, you had to mutilate your soulmark so you could never find your match.” Conan breathed in a gasp. He hadn't realized the extent of control the Org had on their members. “I also had my soulmark desecrated, but that didn't stop my curiosity for them.” She continued, “ In fact, in my independent research, done behind the Organization’s back, mind you, I learned quite a bit.” Well, she certainly had his attention now._

_“What did you learn?” His tone was heavy with intrigue as he turned to face the scientist. She cracked an amused smile at his excitement, but made no comment on it since she knew how invested the boy was with the power of soulmates._

_“I learned that science can't even begin to explain soulmarks, or soulmates. What binds two people together? How does the universe know when “the moment” is? Why do the marks begin as a scar? How do they turn into symbols? None of these questions have been answered.” She watched as the shrunken detective’s face fell. “Something I did learn, however,” his gaze returned to hers with interest, “ is that soulmarks and soulmates are beyond science in multiple ways.”_

_“What?” Conan’s words were laced with cynicism, “You believe soulmates are magic?” He let out a snort as Haibara confidently held his gaze._

_“I've read some amazing reports, Kudo-kun, stories of the marks reacting with certain situations, nothing extreme, but I've heard people with a key mark, quite common, have never had difficulty with locks, physical and mental. I've also heard stories that people with words are able to speak with much more influence than what a person could normally accomplish.” She remained confident with her words, almost asking for him to return with a rebuttal._

_“So, what?” he keep his tone as well, “I will be able to talk to birds like some kind of Disney princess?” he realized he made a mistake as soon as he said the words. Haibara smirked at him like the cat who caught the canary._

_“I don't know, your highness, but I sure hope that they will sing a merry little tune with you.”_

Conan shuddered at the memory. The teasing hadn't stopped for weeks, Haibara had even recruited the Detective Boys to torment him as well. He sighed as he stood to follow Haibara into the basement, he still didn't believe that soulmates were _magig_ everything can be explained with science, there just wasn't an explanation for them yet.

~~♡♤♡~~

Kaito was currently lying in bed, staring at his “borrowed” phone from one tiny tantei. He really should be more concerned about Edogawa Conan’s sleeping habits, the boy never seemed to be asleep when he should, but he was glad to be able to talk to someone so late at night. Over the past few months, he had grown unusually comfortable with the boy, constantly talking and joking with him. Even though the boy was only, what, six? seven? he could make comebacks like nobody's business. The boy always spoke to him with a sort of sass that was just unnatural for such a small body.

Kaito had told himself he would return the phone after requiring the boy to return a favor. Speaking of, he was still concerned about the boy’s safety after what happened on the Bell Tree Express. After Kaito had left Jii, he had asked him to watch the boy until the departed off the train. Jii told them that he was with several other people, and many of them old enough to handle whatever situation had occurred, but none of them seemed to be informed of what actually happened on the train. Kaito would never admit it out loud, but he couldn’t sidereal the boy his friend. It was strange, to have a six year old as a friend, but the boy acted far too old for his age. Kaito was determined to help the boy in anyway he could.

For now, though, he needed to get some sleep, and, hopefully, Meitantei would as well. Kaito did have a heist to plan, after all.

~~♡♤♡~~

After school the next day, Kaito told Aoko that he had to go over to the Blue Parrot to help Jii with some preparations. “Aoko can help too!” was her immediate, overly excited reply. Kaito lost about ten minutes trying to convince the girl that he was the only one who needed to go. “Bakaito, it would be much faster if more people helped.” ‘ _It won't get done at all if Nakamori-keibu’s daughter even saw the preparations._ ’ Luckily, he convinced Aoko that she should just go home with the reminder that they had a project due tomorrow, which sent her into a panic.

When he arrived at the billiard hall, Jii had already closed the shop and had all of the usually heist planning tools laid out. He had a fairly clear idea of what he planned this heist to look like, but he was targeting a Big Jewel, so he had to take countermeasures against the Org…. Wait, the men who chased him down might be connected to those the boy was chasing.

Kaito had danced around the subject, but was able to pull a few little details from the boy, one in particular. When Kaito asked if he had gotten into trouble lately, the boy replied he didn't deal with the men in black often. The members which always chased Kaito always wore black religiously. It might have been a coincidence, but he had a feeling something greater was going on.

“Is something wrong, Bocchama?” Kaito had stopped halfway to the table and Jii was giving him a concerned look. Kaito meet his gaze and smiled.

“I know what I want for my favor, Jii-chan.”


	5. Meetings and Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conan discovers what KID's favor is and he had some thoughts of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW, ok, I had a little writer's block at the beginning of this chapter, but it turn out that it became my longest, oops;;; I hope I wrote this out well enough, I'm kinda iffy on the end. Feedback would be appreciated ^^

It was the middle of the afternoon when Conan received a single text. ‘ _Shinichi’s phone.’_ was his first thought ‘ _KID.’_ was his second. He was on his way to Agasa’s after school, so he found it safe enough to pull the phone put and read the message.

**K** \-    _For the eyes of the smallest, a message just for you. I await you at the top of a tower whose chime still rings strong. I await you when it ends its eighteenth song._

Conan was surprised. It was obviously a note from KID, his usual turn of phrase evident, but it seemed to be an invitation instead of a heist note. Quickly scanning over the message for a second time, Conan deciphered the message, ‘ _It wasn't supposed to be difficult, just a formality.’_

_‘The smallest refers to me, his smallest detective, annoying, but true. The tower refers to a tall building and a chime refers to a clock tower. There are several clock towers within the vicinity of the train routes from Beika, but the closest and the only one which could be specified by still rings is Ekoda. I remember the clock face was covered in jewels and was the target of….. That was KID that time, wasn't it.’_

Conan’s revelation about one of his last cases as Shinichi was interrupted by Ayumi. “Conan-kun?” her small voice asked, laced with curiosity and a slight hint of worry.

“Huh?” he raised his head at the inquiry. Ayumi’s eyes were filled with her childish curiosity.

“We’ve been trying to get your attention for forever!” Genta interjected.

“That’s right!” Mitsuhiko jumped in with the rest of them, “You wouldn’t even respond when we started listing off those mystery novels you like.” ‘ _Was I that lost in thought?’_

“Talking to your boyfriend, Kudo-kun?” Conan jumped as Haibara sneaked up behind him and whispered in his ear.

“HAIBARA!” He knew he was turning red, but he didn’t know whether it was from embarrassment or anger. He watched the girl who was _supposed_ to be the actual oldest chuckle at him for making him blush.

“What did she say, Conan-kun?” Ayumi had a mirthful look in her eyes. “Was the text from someone important?”

“Was it a girlfriend?” Genta echoed.

“Was it your soulmate?” Mitsuhiko voice was a strange mix of scandalized and hopeful. Children really were just full of curiosity about their chosen ones.

“Dummy, we won’t receive soulmarks until we’re sixteen.” Conan huffed while Haibara gave him an amused look which quickly left when Ayumi ran over to her and grabbed onto her arm.

“Ai-chan! Tell me about your scar, since we’re friends!” The last part sounded like it was just tagged on in order to give an excuse. Ayumi had been asking that same question since she was able to make Haibara open up a little. Conan watched the scientist’s face fall the small amount she wasn’t able to mask.

“Ayumi-chan, you know it’s impolite to ask such things.” Haibara scolded, she really sounded like a mother sometimes.

“That’s right Ayumi-chan!” Mitsuhiko immediately backed Haibara up, always the polite. “A soulmate scar is something sacred between people, you can’t just ask about something so personal.”

“I know.” Ayumi huffed, “I’m just suuuuuuuper curious.” She elongated word was accompanied by a giant sweep of her arms to further exaggerate her point.

“Maybe Conan will tell us about his since he loves curious things like that!” Genta, always the impolite, sided with Ayumi.

“Yeah! I want to see Conan-kun’s!” Ayumi had lost her point and her award winning smile made a reappearance.

Conan’s face fell, shock and worry unconsciously moved his hands to his shoulder, the closest point of his soulmark, no, _Shinichi’s_ , soulmark which wouldn’t cause an uncomfortable position. Haibara, whom the boy couldn’t see, also had a mortified expression on her face, and she gasped when he grabbed his shoulders, she knew what lay beneath the fabric. She would never tell Shinichi this, but his soulmark was simply the most beautiful thing she had even been witness too, and she felt that something already incomplete should not be showcased to anyone for any reason, she felt dirty for just witness something which she felt would be so pure.

“What’s wrong Conan-kun? Is your soulmark on one shoulder and you're just trying to confuse us?” Ayumi’s tone had taken on a teasing lilt as she moved close to the boy, hands raised, ready to make an attempt to reveal the tiny detective’s shoulders. Luckily, after he received the text he had raised the ringtone level, and the loud phone chime paused everyone’s actions.

Slowly, the boy pulled out his phone, his body still poised in a defensive stance he became accustomed to growing up with a karate master.  He cautiously opened the phone and looked at the new message.

**K** \- _A favor earned is to be repaid._

_‘Oh,’_ Conan thought, ‘ _that is what this is about.’_

“Who was it?” Haibara’s voiced was almost at a shout and he noticed the desperate tone, hoping to distract the children with a new topic of interest.

“A friend.” was his short reply, “I owe them a favor I have to go take care of now, bye!” And with that, he ran towards the train station.

“A friend?” Genta muttered, “Conan-kun doesn’t have any other friends.” His ridiculous statement made Haibara laugh. “Huh, what?” Genta turned to look at her, “It’s true.”

“Yeah, it is.” her voice was still covered in laughter as the other children joined in. ‘ _It is a friend, of a sort.’_ Haibara thought, ‘ _If that boy isn’t in love, the Org can hunt me down and shoot me.’_ Haibara let her mout fall into a soft smile as she thought of the glimmer she saw in the eyes of the shrunken detective when he talked about the thief, more so since their brief partnership. _‘ Poor soul, doesn’t know what he’s attracted.’_ She shook her head at the thought of the thief having to be subjected to Shinichi’s feelings, curiosity being one of them, but the more she thought she came up the decision that they were _‘made for each other.’_

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Conan had sneaked his way into the top of the Ekoda clock tower with only ten minutes to spare before their six o'clock meeting time. After scanning the room and determining KID had not yet arrived, he allowed himself to relax and reflect about his last conversation with the detective boys.

His soulmark was his most closely guarded secret. He had only allowed Haibara to see it and that was only for a scientific reason. He reached to touch his shoulder once more. He had memorized his soulmark, spending too much time in the bath staring at the tightly folded wings, tracing the lines. He had memorized the long, elegant strands of feathers and those that were short tufts by the nape of his neck. They looked like they would be soft to the touch.

He was afraid of what the others would say when they saw it. They would realize that something was wrong with him, and he felt that the mark couldn't be seen on this body. It was the last part of Shinichi which existed after the fateful day at Tropical Land.

“Got back pain, Meitantei?” Conan jerked his head to look at the thief standing several feet away with his hands in his pockets. He was in his KID gear and not an incognito outfit he had assumed the phantom would wear. The white of his suit was tinged with the colors of the setting sun. His hat had refined its pure white silk, but the light coming through the face of the clock created a cascade of color, leaving the thief’s shoes a deep red.

“Beautiful.” the word slipped out of his mouth, a soft whisper that even he barely heard himself.

“Hm?What was that?” KID leaned forward in inquiry at what Conan had said. Conan’s faced flushed with realization of what he said.

“Nothing, you stupid thief.” the sentence was rushed due to his embarrassment, but the thief either didn't notice or thought nothing of it. “What did you want?”  The thief leaned back to his original position, huffed, then pulled a chair up. ‘ _Where did he hide the chair?’_ True, the chair hadn't been in the room previously, of course Conan had checked for any traps. He stared at the thief as he took his seat. He was still staring when the thief looked back up to meet his gaze.

“Well?” He questioned and gestured behind the tiny detective, “ Aren't you going to sit down?” Conan turned to see that another chair had been placed behind him. He sighed, but took the offered seat. After he made himself comfortable he retired his focus to the reason he was currently trying sitting at the top of a clock tower. ‘ _Ironic he chose this place for the meeting since it was where we had our first encounter, not that he knows that.’_ The thought brought a smirk to his lips as he quirked an eyebrow in a ‘so?’ kind of look.

“Right then.” KID started, there was hints of uneasiness in his voice, but he presented a confident appearance, “ As you already know, I made up my mind as to want I want my favor to be.” he paused to allow the detective to nod in confirmation. “ My request happens to be similar to yours, though it might not be so drastic at this point of time.” _‘ Interesting,’_ Conan thought, ‘ _he couldn't possibly want me to disguise as someone, does he?’_ He heard the man opposite him chuckle, “ No Meitantei, I don't want you to help with a heist, well, not directly.”  KID’s face fell into a serious expression and the room filled with an uncomfortable tension.

The room was silent for several seconds, Conan to afraid to break the silence and the thief’s confidence in him. This was a crucial moment in his plan to eventually team up the thief and take down the Org together. “I want you to help me take down an organization.”

“....What?” KID’s face remained serious, but the small detective was stumped, stupefied. “You..want me… to take down an organization.”

“Yes, together, with me.” _“WHAT.’_ was the only coherent thought in Conan’s brain, the rest were a mess of confusing feelings like, ‘ _Did he know?_ ’ and ‘ _Does he know I’m…?’_ He knew there was no possible way, but the thief never failed to surprise him.

“I know you’re only six, and this is super weird for a criminal to say this,” KID looked almost sheepish now, “but you are the most intelligent and open detective I know which, again, kinda weird considering your age, but I trust you.” KID met the boy’s eyes with a steady, confident stare. ‘ _He_ **_trusts_ ** _me.’_ was now the only thought creeping around in the shrunken boy’s head. It was stupid, insane, a completely idiotic idea for the thief, but it was exactly that, it was so…so KID that Conan felt a soft blush enter his cheeks at the notion he saw Conan as someone _trustworthy_ compared to all of the incredible people a phantom thief’s life had to be surrounded by.

“I… I have to repay my favor, don’t I?” The boy mumbled it, but the thief heard this comment at least. Looking to thief, barely seeing the eye that peered at him from under a brim and a monocle lit with the fading sunlight, he saw him smile.

“You won’t regret this, Meitantei, I believe we were after the same people anyway.” At Conan’s look of confusion, the thief continued, “I had an informant who said he noticed some men in black lurking around the train after the incident, I have a couple of those guys on my tail.” To the thief’s surprise, the boy did not look concern, as one might suspect after telling someone they were being hunted down, but his “Deducing” look, as he had named it, crossed the boy’s face, causing KID to laugh.

“Huh?” Conan raised his head at the sound, “Sorry, I was just thinking that you must be in a similar situation with mmm….” The boy cut his sentence short, causing the white clad man before to tilt his head in confusion. In order to play off the near slip, he picked back up with a lie, “MY friend Shinichi-nii-san hahaha….” The thief didn’t seem to entirely convinced, so he continued into a pit he knew he could recover from, “He has been in hiding from them, in fact, he’s the one who makes all that plans, and he owns the phone you’ve been texting!” ‘ _WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT.’_ Well, he had to run with it now, “He was the one who taught me all of the deduction skills, he’s super smart.” He knew he was using his childish voice and it wouldn’t work on KID, but his explanation must have been convincing enough since the thief shook his head.

“So it’s been him I’ve been texting, I knew a young boy like you wouldn’t stay up so late!” The thief’s tone was mirthful, but it quickly took on a more mischievous note, “ I guess I’m just going to have to get to know Shinichi-nii-san better, won’t I?” The implications of what kind of horror would be sent his way once he had returned to his body sent a shiver down his spine, but he held strong to his child character and nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure you guys are going to be best friends!” _‘BRAIN, STOP IT, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!’_ His mind was in chaos. He wasn’t meaning to say these things, they were just coming out of his mouth!

“I’m sure we will, Conan-kun.” KID spoke in a gentle tone, a luminous, genuine smile spread across his lips. “If you recommend him, he must be great, right?” Did his heart just stop? Had the thief always been this incredible?

“I’ve got to go now, Meitantei.” KID stood from his chair which...wasn’t there anymore, oh, neither was his, when did he get to the floor? “I’ll text your Shinichi-nii-san later, inform him for me, okay?” Still thunderstruck, Conan only nodded. With a flourish of his cape, the thief disappeared into the encroaching night.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

When Conan had returned home, his thoughts had still been in a jumble. He tried to put them aside in favor of trying to act like he hadn’t just discussed the idea of a partnership with an internationally wanted phantom thief. After some nagging from Ran about being late, a bath, and a meal, Conan retired to the room he shared with Kogoro. Luckily, he went upstairs earlier than normal, and a rerun of his precious Yoko-chan’s was on. He threw himself onto his futon, fully ready to try to decipher this strange pressure in his chest, but he didn’t receive even a moment of relaxation before his phone buzzed. ‘ _KID’_ came to his mind before he even registered that it was, in fact, Shinichi’s phone.

**K** \- _I was unaware I had the honor of speaking to the great Heisei Holmes all this time. My apologies for my rudeness._

“What a nerd.” Conan huffed, KID always let him feel so comfortable, the closest he could be to himself was through these text messages. Even the thought of replying filled the detective with happiness.

**S** \- _I was unaware the famed gentleman thief was actually a gentleman._

**K** \- _Oh~ No longer C I see~ I’m hurt tantei~ I’ve always been a gentleman_

**S** \- _Is that right? I didn't know tasing a child was gentlemanly, I must have been taught the wrong set of manners_

**K** \- _You two won’t let that go, will you? Oh well, I wanted to inform you that I have a heist soon and I require your assistance on, I assume tantei-kun has already, especially since I’m the ‘Heisei Holmes’ as you’ve pointed out_

**K** \- _I haven’t met you, but we’ve been talking all this time, haven’t we? Anyone with that amount of sass can’t be bad. I hope you haven’t taught tiny tantei any of that, I don't think I could bare that much sarcasm_

**S** \- _Don’t worry, he can create comebacks all on his own_

**K** \- _Drat, well Meitantei, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you, but I’m afraid I must retire, Au revoir!_

_‘_ _Stupid thief.’_ Conan thought, staring at KID’s last message, ‘ _You don’t have to try to impress me, cute as it was.’_ Wait, “cute”? Did he just think KID was being cute, **is** cute? ‘ _Well he is._ ’ part of his brain responded. “Why do I see him as cute?” he was thinking out loud now, “I shouldn’t think a criminal is cute! I’m a detective for the love of….” his brain came to a hard stop at the word. Love. It was a word he swore to reserve for his soulmate, the one he was destined for, he didn’t want to become attached to someone after what happened with Ran, at least not attached romantically. But the thief wasn’t courting him, wasn’t pursuing him romantically. He just...just **talked** to him, like a normal person, even when he thought he was only talking to a six year old, he was still friendly with him even after saying he was talking with Shinichi though the phone, even if it was true, KID didn’t know that.

“This is so stupid, I shouldn’t let myself be do relaxed around him.” He was beginning to become frustrated with his emotions, they were just so confusing, the tension in his chest threatened to make him cry, the sting of tears creeping into his eyes. “Why do I feel this way? What even is this?!” His hands were clenched, fighting his body to remain calm when all he wanted to do is act his apparent age for once and cry. ‘ _Because, you idiot detective, you love him.’_ His brain was nagging him again. Wait, did he love KID? Haibara always joked about it, and the thief never failed to make him smile, and he knew how _good_ the criminal actually was, and...and…he really did. Releasing his palms from the biting grip his nails held them in, he breathed out his stress. His frustrated tears still lingering in his eyes.

“I love him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahaha, I did it, I hope i conveyed this scene well enough, like I said, I was unsure. I know I didn't have Kaito's POV, but I hope our tantei's revelation made up for that;;;;; Break is approaching soon, but I'm also travelling, but my goal is to post another chapter before the new year! Until then ^^


	6. What a Rose Means

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A note is left and Kaito won't be able to relax for quite a while

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Player 1 is posting this. Everything has been quoted from Player 2's texts to Player 1 and the google doc where we keep everything.
> 
> I did it! I'm so glad I was able to finish this before the new semester starts;;; Player one is uploading again because I'm on vacation and I don't have good wifi;;;

Kaito had just hooked his phone onto the charger when he had felt a shiver run down his spine. He wasn’t usually the kind of person who has those random shivers, but it was fairly cold in his house, so he decided to take a warm bath and think about what had happened that day.

He started drawing the water, grabbed some fresh, fluffy towels, and a pair of pajamas to change into, pure bliss was awaiting him. One thing stood in his way, undressing. Kaito had always hated undressing, his scar would make a glaring appearance, even if he tried his hardest not to look in the mirror, a part of him always made him look, perhaps he would hope that if he looked, it might not be there; however, his dreams were never fulfilled. Now, he still had the glaring wish to look, not even hoping for it to disappear, just turn back into a scar, it was easier to hide a wound then a giant color gradient, but as he looked this time, he still neglected to receive his one hope.

Looking into the mirror, Kaito saw the ombre, the lights from the bathroom reflecting off of it, the effect made it seem like the mark was shimmering. The longer Kaito stared at his back, the more his chest grew tight. The mark did nothing but make him angry.

Tearing his eyes off of it, he turned back to the bath, shutting the water off. He sighed as he sunk into the hot water, his muscles releasing their tension. After becoming KID he had grown to appreciate baths even more than he already enjoyed them. The warm water helped him relax, and all of the running and dodging the police he had to do certainly made him sore, not to mention the giant brushes he would receive from tantei-kun’s demon soccer ball, that thing could be deadly if he wanted it to be.

Thinking of the tiny detective, Kaito thought back to the meeting they had earlier in the day. He was slightly surprised that the child had so readily agreed to forming a partnership with him. He was also surprised he hadn't been communicating with the boy at all these past couple of months. Sure, the kid had always talk in a manner that was closer to someone of Kaito’s age than someone with the intelligence of a first grader, but Kaito knew the boy was ridiculously smart. After the boy told him he had actually been talking to “Shinichi-nii-san” Kaito had looked up the famed Heisei Holmes. Kaito vaguely remembered hearing about the high schooler when he appeared in the paper a few times, but he had thought nothing of it then. Besides, he was just getting the hang of being KID when the papers were buzzing about the high school detective.

His research had uprooted several interesting tidbits about his new ally. The detective had quite famous parents, what with his father being a successful mystery author, must be where the fascination came from, and a mother who was a retired actress. He also found out the boy had just vanished a little before the time he met Edogawa Conan.

He wasn't quite sure how to feel about having talked to someone he didn't know for so long, but he came to the conclusion that since Shinichi had talked so honestly with him he couldn't have had ill intentions. He enjoyed his conversations with him when he thought he was six, so why should learning who he really was change his opinion? Shinichi was witty, and sure, his amount of sass could lead some to believe that he was a complete jerked, but if he could instill such morality in a kid as young as Conan, he must be just righteous. Even if they had just technically met, he felt he could trust this detective. ‘ _I should trust Hakuba before I trust him’_

‘ _Hakuba would arrest you even if you had just saved someone's life, his life even.’_

‘ _You're right brain, but that was Conan who didn't arrest me all of those times.’_ That was something. Shinichi and Conan were two different people,  so why did Kaito automatically assume that Shinichi would act just like Conan did? Was it because he was the boy’s mentor? ‘ _Yeah, it's probably that.’_

He sank lower into the bath as his thoughts wandered to the upcoming heist. They always made Kaito a little nervous, so many things could go wrong or traps or props could be discovered before he had a chance to use them. It came with the profession, he supposed, but it still placed a knot in his stomach. He had already finished planning the heist with Jii, but he has yet to wrote the note. He sighed, he regretted planning the heist so soon, but the jewel he was after only had a couple more weeks in the country before it is shipped back to its owner. Deciding to get the note done sooner rather than later, he grumbled as he pulled the plug on the tub. It would be a while until he could once again enjoy the peace of the tub.

~~♡♤♡~~

 **K** \- _A note will be arriving soon, I left it in the mailbox of the old man's place next to your house._

The text had come through late at night, Conan, of course, was sleeping, but the tone woke him up. It had become a habit of his to always teeter on the edge of wakefulness, he thought it stemmed from all of the nightmares he had. He sighed as he stared at the phones bright screen in the darkness of, what, like two am? KID’s sleeping habits must be abysmal. He had to read the message twice, his sleepy brain neglecting to comprehend the message. After finally understanding the words, he sighed and fell back asleep, tomorrow was a Sunday after all, he might as well just go over to Agasa’s early.

~~♡♤♡~~

Early the (same?) morning, Conan convinced Ran that the Detective Boys would be  meeting at Agasa-hakase’s in order to finish some homework. As he made his way over to the professor's house he thought about what his relationship with Ran had become. He hated lying to her, but the almost year he spent staying at her house as Conan had made him lie as easily as if it was the truth, while it was true he no longer held romantic feelings for his childhood friend,  he still desired her companionship, they had been friends since kindergarten after all.

As he walked up to Agasa’s house, he cast a longing look at his own before opening the professor's mailbox and pulled out a singular, elegant looking envelope and a singular yellow rose, peculiar. “Tantei-kun” was written on the front in beautiful, curved lines. He began to carefully open the envelope-it was just so pretty- and carefully removed the letter as he knocked on the professor’s door. He looked up from the equally elegant stationery to meet Haibara’s annoyed gaze. “Why are you here so early?” Her tone was flat with the rough edge of sleep making her voice scratchy.

“KID left a heist note here this morning and there isn’t a chance that I would read it at the detective agency.” With a sigh, Haibara opened the door wider, eyed the rose, and gestured for him to enter.

“If you wanted to read your boyfriend’s love letter, you just have to say so.” Haibara remarked as she closed the door behind him. Conan whipped his head around, blush filling his cheeks, to stare wide-eyed at the scientist. She had been teasing him since the mystery train fiasco, but since he realized his feelings, the comments seemed to hit a little closer to home.

“Could you quit with the teasing Haibara.” His tone was soft, embarrassed, and Haibara did not fail to notice the lack of an energized response from the usually blustering boy.

“Oh my God.” Haibara mumbled, realization crossing her face, “OH MY GOD!” Her face shifted into one of shocked amazement. “You actually like him!”

“Why don’t you tell the whole world Haibara. It’s not like that could potentially be an issue.” He sighed and walked over to the couch. Although he was feeling quite frustrated, he was careful not to crush the letter and thornless rose still held tightly in his hand.

“It’s not my fault Kudo-kun. I didn’t think you would actually realize it without someone having to tell you.” Haibara followed him over and sat down across from him. Amazingly, she had no sign of smugness in her expression, not even Haibara was cruel enough to poke fun at someone who was trying to accept they were in love, she wished she could be in their position. She stared in silence at the boy, his eyes glued to the floor, shame could be felt from him, it came off in heavy, thick waves, yet Haibara could see the hints of love for the object of his affection in the way he maintained his posture. “You know,” she began, catching the detective’s attention, “It’s okay that you like him. And yes, I know he is a criminal,” Haibara cut him off before he could speak, “but so am I, and you let me hang around, don’t you.”

“Yeah, but I never wanted to _date_ you Haibara, no offense.”

“None taken, but Kudo-kun, I honestly believe this is a good thing.” She heard him scoff. “Seriously, you always talked about that thief like he hung the moon, and you’re a detective!” Conan groaned at the reminder. “Don’t you think that has to mean something? You trust him enough to ask for his help in taking down the Org, so why can’t you be in love? You two were practically made for each other.” Conan’s head shot up.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous Haibara. There’s no way you could actually think that.” Even though he seemed determined to deny her claim, the shrunken scientist saw hope shimmering in his wide blue eyes, finally looking his shrunken age without having to force it.

“Of course I believe that, Kudo-kun. You never shut up about him and you always smile when he talks to you, I might not have one anymore, but I think he could be the one to finish your soulmark, who else would have such an extravagant image.” The blush returned in full force to the shrunken boy’s face.

“It’s not that extravagant.” He mumbled averting his gaze in embarrassment

“Kudo-kun.” Her stern tone practically forced him to return her withering stare. “You literally have a pair of wings on your back.Wings. On your _entire_ back. I’ve never heard of a soulmark this large before.” Conan gapped for a while, trying to turn his muddled thought into some form of coherent thought. Finally, he sighed.

“Let’s just look at the heist note, alright?” Haibara hummed, allowing the detective to drop the subject. Thankful for the release, Conan focused his attention onto the piece of paper still held delicately in his hand. He unfolded the note and immediately took note of the language. The entire thing was written in english. ‘ _I hope Hakuba is attending this heist._ ’ He sincerely doubted the police would have an easy time deciphering a note in a different language. He could practically hear Nakamori-keibu’s complaints. He pulled away from the thoughts and returned his focus to the note.

**I think a rose of this colour suits my fancy  
** **When the Cheshire Cat  begins to smile  
** **I shall arrive to wipe away the tear  
** **And I will not shy away from the sun  
** **-KID**

“Stupid thief and his pretentious writing.” he muttered.

“I’m kind of impressed.” Haibara had moved next to him without him noticing, causing the detective to jump. Haibara ignored his reaction and continued to examine the letter. “His penmanship is wonderful, but I have to question his choice of spelling here.” She pointed to “colour” on the first line.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The “u” indicates the british spelling of the word which must be a clue to the gem’s identity. The first line must be about the gem, then.” Haibara hummed, allowing the boy to think out loud without interruption. “Rose…” He glanced at the rose he was still holding, “Yellow rose, must be a clue to the color. I’ve researched the gems currently being shown in the area,” Haibara snickered and Conan sent her an annoyed look, “and there are several yellow gems currently within the city, but” he pointed to the last word on the line, “fancy is a term used to describe the quality of a diamond, and due to their rarity, there is only one possibility for the gem. The Cora sun drop diamond which was held in the London Natural History Museum before it was auctioned off.”

“Kudo-kun.” Haibara interrupted, “You wouldn’t have had time to research so in depth since last night and this morning. Do you just keep tabs on the city’s gem displays?” Conan sputtered, clearly flustered at being caught.

“That’s not important right now.” Haibara hummed. “Anyway, continuing on, ‘Cheshire Cat’ is an obvious reference to Alice in Wonderland, not only another clue to the english origins of the gem, but also the date of the heist. Thanks to the Disney version of the story, there is a scene where the Cheshire Cat’s smile turns into the moon, and at the right time, the moon actually reflects the scene.”

“So the night where the moon looks like the smile is the heist?”

“Exactly. The ‘begins to’ gives the time of the heist, when the moon rises. The next two lines reference the gem, but the last one could be a clue as to how he will pull off the heist.”

“Light?” Haibara questioned. Conan nodded in agreement.

“Most likely. I can’t imagine he only included the line for poetic purposes.”

“So,” Haibara folded her arms across her chest, “ Are you going to tell the police all of this information?” Conan opened his mouth to speak, then closed it to think. Did he want to tell the police this? KID mentioned the Org could possibly be involved in the upcoming heists. From previous conversations he learned from the magician that they target Big Gems, and this one, the Cora Sun-Drop Diamond, was the largest of its kind.

“I think I'll let them figure this one out on their own.” He stood up from the couch, eyeing the rose, he would have to find some excuse to explain to Ran where he found such a well kept flower. As he moved his gaze to the piece of parchment ignore Iredell in his hand, he turned it over, admiring the quality when he noticed a postscript on the back.

**P.S. In case you were wondering how I delivered a rose to every task force member, which I did, I just filled the Inspector’s office with them.**

Conan laughed. _‘Leave it to that thief to drive an entire police force crazy.’_ he should have felt sorry for them, but the thought of Nakamori opening his office that morning and a tidal wave of yellow roses burying him was to funny to resist. ‘ _Well, this is one heist that I simply can't miss.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the chapter is fairly lackluster, but I hope everyone is ready to kick off the new year with a bang!


	7. A Heist of Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A much anticipated heist has arrived, but not without some unexpected consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bang

Kaito was proud of himself. The heist was shaping up wonderfully, Tantei-kun, _‘was that Kudo or Conan?’ ‘Why not both of them?’,_ said he understood the note and Conan would be there, and sitting down with the inspector at dinner the day he sent the task force his note was a meal and a show. The man was livid, complaining he had to hand out each individual rose to each officer, and they were all labeled with the officers’ names. Kaito had to hide his smirk when the inspector told the table he feared what kind of horrendous act the phantom would torture him with if he hadn't distributed the roses correctly.

His mirth at the Inspector’s troubles must have persuaded karma to rebel against him since Hakuba was called soon after in order to have a native speaker fully comprehend the note. He honestly should have foreseen the development, but his was too proud of the note to let anything dampen his mood. Hakuba brought more trouble than just with KID, however, Aoko had decided to always invite Hakuba with them when he was in town. More than half of their recent outings had been accompanied by the Brit, and Kaito was beginning to feel a bit annoyed that his friend was seemingly obsessed with the detective and his snobbish fashion sense. “Why would anyone wear a scarf everyday anyway Aoko?” he would constantly ask.

“Maybe he just gets cold really easily.” was one of Aoko’s favorite replies. Kaito would then open the weather app on his phone and point to the temperature.

“No one wears a scarf in this kind of weather Aoko.” they would mutually let the argument drop after a while, it was never a major deal and they didn't want to have a fallout like before ever again.

Once she learned Hakuba would be attending the heist, Aoko constantly asked her father I'd she could attend this heist. She used the excuse it was to see the police work up and close, but Kaito knew better. He had a sinking feeling his best friend was becoming more attached to the British detective in a not-so-platonic way.

Kaito would, of course, accept Aoko if she decided to pursue Hakuba romantically,  but he knew the girl would drop him like he was was on fire the moment she found her soulmate. He took comfort in this and, for once, was glad of the cursed word.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

When the day if the heist came upon the town, the usual excitement built in Kaito. Even if the reason he stole was not for the adrenaline rush some news outlets liked to peg him for, the energy spike certainly became addicting. Jii drove the two of them over to the heist location, a high rise building with several large rooms used for traveling displays, and Kaito immediately got to work.

He slipped into clothing which would appear casual enough, but hid his identity, and entered the building to make rounds of all of his trap and main event equipment. The heist would take place on two floors dedicated to the traveling exhibit. The second floor was a perimeter of the first with an opening on looking the ground and the target displayed in the center of the room. Checking and double checking each piece of equipment, he found himself more than satisfied with each piece. His main concern was with the traps hidden across the building. He prided himself on the passivity of his heists. Sure, he electrocuted or knocked out some people with a tad more violence than necessary, but he was a “bad guy ” in many people's eyes.

Shortly after he finished his pre-pre-heist checks, the police arrived. They would most likely make a sweep or two of the building, and Kaito would have to make another round after them to see if anything was disturbed. He concealed himself and watched the officers fill into the showroom. He saw the usual suspects in the task force team, faces he had become familiar with, Hakuba trailed behind Nakamori-keibu, Aoko, unfortunately, behind him, and behind all of them, he saw the KID Killer, alone with the old man he was friends with.

Looking at the small detective made him wonder what his older counterpart looked like. Sure, he had seen the pictures of him in the articles he researched after hearing of Kudos involvement, but there was something different about the detective in the pictures and the one he talked to, an aloofness in his face seemed lost in their conversations, even if Kudo sassed him constantly.

No matter how amused he was reminiscing about the chats, he had to remained focused. The Org would most likely be here, and he couldn't afford to let anyone get hurt.

He shadowed the task force on their rounds of the building, thankful they didn't trip or discover any surprises to early. After the final checks, he chose his poor victim of the night, a newer officer who was still far to confident he could see through KID’s illusions. After stashing the unconscious officer in a broom closet, Kaito walked back into the showroom just in time to hear Nakamori give his pep talk and divide the teams into their stations. He tries to remain as focused as the recruit was, but a rug on his plant leg brought him face to face with his tiny ally.

Slightly worried about how the boy would act now that he had a mission to complete, he knelt down to eye level with the child. “ What is it boy? You worried about the heist?” Conan shook his head.

“No, I just think it might be kinda bright for a KID heist.” He spoke with an air of innocence, but the hard stare he gave Kaito revealed his true meaning. _‘Clever boy.’_ Kaito grinned. He reached over over and ruffled the boy's hair, an action the latter didn't seem to appreciate.

“Don't worry boy, it will be dark soon.” Conan seemed Content with the response, smiled, and walked back to the old man he came with. Nakamori called for everyone to get to their positions, so Kaito sauntered over to the location he had been told to guard.

“Hey!” It was Hakuba from across the room. Kaito turned to face the detective’s direction and saw Hakuba was walking quickly toward him, Aoko on his heels, with a suspicious look on his face. ‘ _That's fine,’_ the thief snickered as he saw the dusk had darkened considerably, ‘ _It’s showtime.’_ gave Hakuba a smirk as he pressed a button concealed in his pocket.

Suddenly, the room went dark. KID heard Hakuba sputter as he lunged toward the location the thief had been previously standing. With a trained agility, KID sprinted, maneuvering through the crowd of bodies, toward the display case of his target. He hopped onto the stand quietly and drew a breath, excitement enhancing his every nerve. “Ladies and gentlemen!” he exclaimed, projecting his voice to every corner of the vast room. “I want to thank each and everyone of you for joining me tonight.” The room, still pitch black, began to rumble with the moving of police to turn on their emergency lights per Nakamori-keibu’s orders. “I'm afraid, however, the jewel I seek is much more glamorous in the light.”

As if on cue, the police threw on their flood lights, unaware of the mirrors now surrounding the case. Yelps of pain from the room made Kaito feel a bit guilty. Not for hurting the taskforce, they should be used to this, but Aoko was also in the audience and there was likely to be much complaining from the girl later.

Jumping off of the pedestal, he made quick work of the displays lock, picking up the jewel with the utmost care. The small bits of light seeping through the cracks between the mirrors danced around in the gem’s core, creating small little rays of yellow light. He pocketed the jewel as he heard the officers begin to recover. He shot his grappling hook onto the second level and quickly pulled himself onto the railing. “Well then,” The magician announced, holding the jewel in a showman’s manner, “I have taken the Sun-Drop, and with it, the day. If you all would be so kind as to excuse me, I must be going.” With a bow, he jumped back to the second floor, ignoring Nakamori’s yell of the usual ‘Get him!’ and ‘You're not getting away KID!’

“Leaving so soon?” KID turned to look at Hakuba, out of breath at the top of the showroom’s stairs. KID smiled, he had guessed Hakuba would be the one to climb them first.

“So sorry tantei-san, but I really must go.” With a flourish, he pulled a comically large remote from his pocket and gave a little wave.

“Hakuba-kun! Don't just leave me-!” Too late to stop it, KID had pressed the button, activating the trap he had placed, nabbing the now two people within the vicinity of it. Hakuba and Aoko were now hung upside down, tied together by the trick wore Kaito had set up. ‘ _When I said I would be fine being a wingman, I didn't think I would be this good at it.’_ He took a moment to admire the situation, red staining both of the high schoolers faces, whether from being hung upside-down, being nose to nose, or both. ‘ _At least the stupid Brit’s scarf fell off.’_ The offending piece of fabric was laying in a heap on the floor. As he returned his gaze to the blustering detective, a jolt ran up his spine.

Placed on the detective’s was the handle of a key, _an old brass key_. Kaito froze as his brain made the connections necessary. The soulmark was incomplete, but it was obvious what should replace the remaining scar tissue. “KID!” There was a new voice from the stairwell. He was snapped away from his epiphany to look at the small child looking at him with concern. “You won't get away!” he yelled as he gave a shooing  motion in his direction. Giving the boy a look of gratitude, he began to run toward the emergency stairwell and up toward the roof.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

KID had been acting weird. It wasn’t like the prankster to lead someone into a trap and then just...gape. Conan had a rush of adrenaline when the heist started, the familiarity making excitement course through his veins. He ran up those stairs in a blur. He had to reign in his energy when he noticed the thief acting, well, off. The grateful look the Moonlight Magician sent him after warning of the approaching officers shot a different chemical running through his brain. Curse that magician and his gorgeous smile, reminding him of something he can’t have.

After shaking off his fluster he ran after the trickster, who had already thrown open the door to the emergency stairwell. With the officers on his own heels, he knew he had to keep up his act. Reaching the stairs, he saw the thief dancing up the cement steps, skipping over some entirely. ‘ _He set up traps he too, huh?’_ A smirk, which appeared far to sinister for his apparent age, graced the boy’s lips, ‘ _Thanks for leaving me the pattern KID-san.’_ Without another thought, the boy began racing up the stairs, perhaps to carelessly, jumping over the steps in the pattern he saw KID had.

At a yelp, Conan paused and turned back around, only to see the task force getting caught in some traps. Mirrors would appear suddenly, startling the member with their own reflection, some had been caught in surprise with a flashlight to the face. Grateful for the extra time he would have with his accomplice- he wouldn’t dare say he wanted the extra time because he liked KID. As he reached the top of the stairs, he slowed at the sound of a man’s voice.

“Hand it over KID.” He heard KID scoff, “Unless you want to get shot again.” Panic overtook the detective. That certainly couldn’t be a task force officer, not with the amount of malice in the man’s tone. Quickly thinking through multiple scenarios, Conan came to a decision, took out his bowtie, hurriedly adjusted it, and threw open the rooftop door.

~~♡♤♡~~

“Stop right there KID!” In a panic, Kaito whipped his head toward the door, expecting Nakamori, but, instead, he found the other detective present at the heist. Keeping his poker face, he analyzed the situation. ‘ _Tantei-kun, you really have outdone yourself.’_ A smirk was pulled across his face as he understood the plan.

“Oh, Keibu! How pleasant it is to see you.” He glanced back at Snake, who was currently pointing a gun towards Kaito. From the villain's point of view, he wouldn’t be able to see the detective, the door blocking his line of sight, and the voice would certainly convince him that the person standing behind it would be the man in charge of the police force. “I’m afraid I’m a bit preoccupied at the moment, could you come back later?” He returned his gaze to the door, looking over the boy in favor of trying to further the appearance of Nakamori standing at the door.

“Wait!? I have an entire team who have waited long enough for two lifetimes right behind me!” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Snake flinch, obviously not liking the odds of going against an entire task force decked out in riot gear. ‘ _That kid is good, or Nakamori-keibu is just far too easy to impersonate.’_

~~♡♤♡~~

“Well, Keibu, I would just love to see them.” With a meaningful look at Conan, KID made a quick leap toward the door, somewhat startlingly the small detective concealed behind it. A bang reverberated off of the door, the force almost to much for his small body to prevent the door from swinging back on him, but no gunshot sound, ‘ _A silencer then.’_ Conan glanced back at the stairwell. The officer were advancing again, the one in front were just rounding the last corner, seemingly ignorant of the thief standing just at the top. As he whipped his head back around to warn the magician, he was met with the face of a task force officer, outfitted in his riot gear. ‘ _Clever thief.’_

“He’s up here, officers!” He called to the approaching group, “I just saw him!” In a final burst of energy, the task force sprinted onto the roof, the new addition blending in with them at the top. With trained efficiency, the group piled out and swept the roof for any sign of the thief. Unsurprisingly, they found not a trace of anyone on the roof, the man Conan had heard seemingly disappeared when he failed to shoot the thief before he had reached the cover of the door. What did surprise the boy, however, was the absence of Nakamori on the roof. He was grateful the inspector wasn’t with the leading group, but he thought the man would be up with the rest of the task force.

Deciding to return to the showroom, Conan entered to the sight of Nakamori ferociously hugging Hakuba, who had an expression akin to that of a suffocating goose. At a second glance, he noticed KID standing behind a wall, watching the scene unfold. Conan quickly walked over to the disguised man, but thought it was better not to speak upon closer inspection the man’s current posture. His shoulders were hunched up, eyebrows scrunched together, hands clenched in biting fists. The biggest tell of the thief’s current state was the pain in his eyes. The usual ,playful brightness was replaced with the shine of tears. “KID?” Conan quietly questioned. With a jump, the man in question turned to kneel and met the boy’s eyes.

“I’ll just text Shinichi later, okay?” Conan only nodded, hearing his real name with such familiarity from his love interest was enough to render him speechless. With a forced smile, KID stood, and left.

Deciding it was best to take Agasa-hakase and leave, Conan did just that, only hearing later that Hakuba had discovered his soulmate, Nakamori’s daughter, at the heist due to the time they had to talk being tied up in KID’s trap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone! Thank you so much for all of the support last year, and I hope you will continue to support me this year as well!


	8. Lock and Chain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the heist isn't nearly as relax as Kaito hoped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I angsting right?

It was time that Kaito admitted something to himself. The feeling had been weighing on his shoulders, on his heart. He couldn’t take lying to himself anymore. He leaned forward, hands planted firmly on the sink basin. He looked dead into his reflection’s eyes and took a large breath, preparing himself for the words he was about to say. “Kaito,” his reflection looked back at him, sympathetic, “you are cursed.”

It had to be the truth, after all, why else would his best friend be paired up with the biggest threat-besides the org and now that tantei-kun was on his side-to his alter ego? And of course it had to be  _ him _ which instigated their moment. Of all of the ways Lady Luck could leave him, this had to be one of the worst.

With a groan, Kaito pushed himself away from the sink and his pitiful expression, he still had to tell Kudo about what happened at the heist. Only that rooftop bit though, he didn’t need to vent his problems with soulmarks at him. Katio drew in a large breath as he reached for his phone, trying to reign in his emotions.

**K** - _ How goes your evening Meitantei-kun? _

Kaito was surprised how quickly his phone buzzed afterword, either Conan had told his older counterpart about his little episode after the heist or the detective had been on his phone. ‘ _ Probably the latter.’ _ Kaito hummed, reopening the recently closed conversation.

**S** - _ Better, now that I’ve heard something from you, stupid thief. _

Kaito chuckled,”Okay, maybe it was the first.”

**K** - _ Oh~tantei-kun, were you worried? _

**S** - _ Of course I was worried. _

**S** - _ After I heard about all that happened at the heist, how could I not? _

Kaito blushed. He hadn’t expected such a straightforward answer from the other, he expected the sarcastic response he would normally receive, but knowing the detective cared so much made Kaito feel better about the recent series of events. Kaito decided not to comment on the other boy’s concern and focus on debriefing him on the heist.

**K** - _ Well, I should clear that up for you. _

He proceeded to recount the events of earlier in the evening, all the way to the part before he started crying over his best friend finding her soulmate than running all the way back to his house. Shinichi asked questions about Snake, and Kaito answered to the best of his ability, glad to have a distraction.

**S** - _ So, they are after a certain jewel, and you’re trying to find it before they do? _

**K** - _ Right on the nose, detective. _

**S** - _ So, does this have anything to do with why you were crying after the heist? _

Kaito inhaled a sharp breath,’ _ So Conan did see him.’ _ Christ this was a mess he did not want to to deal with at the moment.

**K** - _ I have to go, goodnight tantei-kun _

**S** - _ KID, seriously, tell me what happened _

**K** -Goodnight tantei-kun

Kaito threw his phone down onto his bed. Was he really that easy to read or was Shinichi just that sharp. God, he didn’t know, he didn’t want to deal with this until Aoko inevitably told him about her wonderful discovery. His phone chimed. “Speak of the devil and she shall appear.” With a sigh, Kaito once again picked up his phone and looked at the yet from Aoko.

**A** - _ Kaito! Something incredible happened at the KID heist today! Meet me at the usual café downtown around noon! _

Kaito wished he could refuse. He didn't want to have to be subjected to the torture of his best friend ranting about  _ Hakuba _ , but he swore to himself that he would support Aoko no matter what. That was what best friends were for after all.

He let out his umpteenth sigh of that night as he plugged in his slowly dieing phone and got ready for bed. Even after his heist, he couldn't seem to find a moment of peace. 

~~♡♤♡~~

Kaito arrived at the usual café shortly after Aoko did, so he was able to quickly find her at the window side table for two, their usual drinks already on the table. He was slightly thrown off by the girl’s hair, however, when he saw she had placed it into a high bun on her head. It showed she didn't normally partake in the art of hair buns, something Kaito came to master over his many disguises, since several strands of her hair were free from the confines of the hair tie. “Kaito!” Aoko exclaimed when she saw Kaito approaching, “You won't believe what happened last night.”

“Try me.” The reply had to struggle out of his throat, his body was trying to reject the confirmation of what happened, his poker face barely hiding the pain the words caused him.

“My soulmark was completed!” Aoko’s face lit up, joy seemed to be radiating out of her pore. “Look at it Kaito! Isn't it wonderful!” she turned away from him, exposing the back of neck to him. The key seemed to have become even more vibrant now that it was complete, the brass seemed to shine like it was actual metal, like it should be a real object and not the result of scar.

Looking at the soulmark choked Kaito up a little, he didn't know if the sadness came from the fact his best friend now had a new top priority or if it was the fact the image seemed to complete Aoko in some way. He always knew she was beautiful, he had a crush on her for years after all, but with the key, she looked absolutely radiant, intelligent in a way he never associated with his friend.  “It's great Aoko.” His words were soft, and most certainly sincere. The universe might be against him and he didn't want to follow it's plan for him, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate what it means to his friend.

“Isn't it?” Aoko turned back around grabbing her cup as she met Kaito’s eyes properly for the first time. She started choking  on her drink.

“Aoko?” Kaito shot up from his chair, now concerned about the girl,”Hey, what's wrong?”  Aoko coughed a couple more times before looking back up at him shyly.

“It’s nothing, I'm fine.” She was, in fact, perfectly fine, but Kaito was not. Ever since she received her compete soulmark she began seeing things. Whenever she made eye contact with someone she was talking to, she saw locked chains around them, the lock placed firmly on their hearts. Coincidently, she had seen Akako on her way to the cafe and she had said something that resonated with Aoko.

“You must be great at unlocking what people have locked in their hearts.” It seemed to be true. It was like her brain supplied the right words to coaxing people into admitting what was weighing on them, small laugh, trivial secrets. Several of the task force officers had admitted to hiding secret admirations for the thief they were chasing down, but Kaito looked like a completely different situation.

The chains surrounding him looked black and poisonous. What was worse is that they looked like they were living, moving around him like a snake. Whether is coiled around him to protect him or not was up for debate, but it certainly looked like it was suffocating him. She knew from her peripheral that Kaito was happily talking about something now, but when she locked eyes with him, only downturned lips and sad eyes looked back at her. It was something she was certainly not used to from her best friend. “Aoko? Is something on my face?” she was pulled out of her trace.

“No, I'm fine.” She let out a little, apologetic laugh, “Oh!I haven't even told you who my soulmate is yet!” Kaito leaned forward intrigued, but Aoko saw the pained look he was hiding, this whole situation was beginning to make her uncomfortable. “Funnily enough, it's Hakuba.” that time his look of disdain want hidden. Aoko laughed. “I know he isn't your favorite, but he really is a good person.” Kaito sighed.

“ I'll be fine, as long as he makes you happy, Aoko.” he gave her a gentle smile. “That's what is important, right?”  Aoko smiled back.

“Thanks Kaito, but are you alright, I know you're keeping something from me.” ‘ _ Multiple things.’  _ she added mentally, taking another look at the large lock on Kaito’s heart. She watched Kaito draw in a sharp breath.

“No Kaito, there isn't anything to say.”

“Are you sure? I know things haven't been easy since your dad-”

“No Aoko! I'm fine.” he was almost shouting. ‘ _ Pressure point.’  _ her brain told her. Several follow up questions started popping into her brain, but Kaito’s pained look was to pitiful for Aoko to continue questioning the topic.

“Well, if it's about my soulmark, I know you don't want to find your, but-”

“Just stop talking.” His voice had dropped again, low and defeated. ‘ _ Pressure point. Is anything not a pressure point with him?’ _ She drew in a breath for confidence and opened a breath to saw something else, but before she could a scream came from the other side of the café.

Someone was lying in the floor, unmoving. Fear shot through the pair of high schoolers as they saw the staff run over to the fallen patron. ‘ _ Does Lady Luck really hate me this much.’  _ an unbelieving smile stretched across Kaito’s face.    
Suddenly, the door to the café was thrown open. A dark skinned teenager ran in, a child trailing behind him, a very familiar child. ‘ _ Yep. She must.’ _


	9. A Small Piece of Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A murder in a café might not be as impersonal as Conan first thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who knew that school work was so drowning. I'm so so so sorry this took so long, and I'm not once hundred precent satisfied, but I hope this chapter is somewhat worth the wait.

Hattori Heiji had shown up at the Mouri  household early that morning. His excuse was that Kazuha had wanted to spend some time with Ran, which was true. The girls had been planning their day when Conan had woken up. After a little fussing, the shrunken boy agreed to go with them, even if intruding on a girls’ day was the last thing he wanted to do.

They had been walking down a street in Ekoda-apparently there was the  _ absolute  _ _ best _ bakery downtown- with the girls leading and Hattori and Conan hanging back. They had been making small talk, recent cases or what non-murder things they had been up to lately, when they heard a loud scream coming from the small café they had just passed.With a reaction time only detectives could have, the boys quickly ran for the door of the café, leaving two girls slightly stunned behind them. 

Entering the café, they quickly scanned the small space. Several tables were set toward the large window with several others spaced between those and the far wall. On the other side, a display case was set up to tempt customers into buying some of the desserts inside while the rest of the space was occupied by a service counter and the usual coffee instruments. Looking at the people, no employees stood behind the counter, instead they were gathered around a table of three where the shape of a body could be seen through the gaps between the groups legs. The rest of the café was occupied by only a few other groups, a group of five older ladies, a middle-aged businessman, and a high school aged couple.

With the scan done, the pair of them walked toward the group of three customers and two employees they first noticed. “Hey! What's happened?” Hattori took charge of the conversation as Conan moved closer to the body. The man appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties with quite raggedy features, ignoring the contortions of pain on his face. There wasn't a physical wound on the body, at least, Conan didn't see any blood. ‘ _ Poison then. _ ’ he deduced, slowly making his way toward the body. He kept an ear on Hattori’s questions as he leaned over the figure now frozen with pain.

“Hey, Conan-kun.” With alert, the called boy turned his head toward where he remembered the high school couple to be. To his surprise, the girl was familiar to him, Nakamori’s daughter whom he had been introduced to several KID heists ago. He also remembered her recently discovered soulmate debacle at the KID heist. He felt slightly guilty about not helping them down, but it had turned out better than fine in the end. “What are you doing here?” She inquired, kneeling down to the boy’s level as he approached her.

“I was out with Heiji-nii-san when we heard the scream, he’s a detective like Hakuba-nii-san!” he exclaimed, meeting the girl’s kindly curious gaze. After a beat the girl’s soft, friendly smile became a grimace which morphed into a look of slight horror. She glanced back to her companion who was sitting facing the window, his back facing the scene in the small café. Before the boy couldn't inquire about Nakamori’s strange behavior, she shook her head and faced the boy again, her eyes closed, but with her kind look back on her face.

“You wouldn't want to be involved with something as morbid as this Conan-kun. Murder isn't as nearly as bearable as one of KID’s heists.” She still refused to open her eyes to look at him, an action the boy had found to be incredibly rude;however, he ignored this since she seemed to be genuinely trying to be kind.

“Unfortunately, Nakamori-san, I know my way around a crime scene.” the girl finally looked at him, pity seemed to be seeping through her every pore. He hated that look, expecting him to be something he wasn't, didn't want to be.

“Oi, Ku-onan.” thankful for the chance to escape the uncomfortable situation, said boy eagerly turned toward Hattori, ignoring the other's near slip. “I could use your help.” With a call promising to be right over, her turned to give Aoko a polite bow before running over to Hattori.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Aoko couldn't decide if this new “super power” was a blessing or a curse. She pondered this as she walked back to the table at which Kaito looked incredibly bored, quite strange considering the current situation. She stared at her friend, afraid to see the chains from earlier, so she was thankful when he didn't turn to meet her gaze. Speaking of chains, she felt guilty she couldn't hide her expression when she witnessed Conan’s. The boy’s had been on the same level as her best friend's, they were large and heavy looking while the color was a shineless black, the locks on the chains had been large and worn looking, some areas were rusting and the keyholes looked like someone had tried to force each of them open. It was disturbing to see such awful locks on a boy so young, but even the face he wore, one which was supposed to be the smiling face he was wearing, was older and far more tired looking than any child should ever bear.

“Aoko?” it was Kaito, his voice was soft, as if he were talking to a scared child. “I've been trying to catch your attention, are you okay?” Said girl shook her head, trying to clear the haunting image of the afflicted boy, so alike to the one in front of her. 

“I'm fine example Kaito, just a little shaken up by this situation.” It was true, it was rare for Aoko to be on the crime scene for a murder since her father was stationed in division two, but she saw one on occasion. She was thankful it wasn't anything gorey like a physical wound, she didn't think she could handle being a witness to something like that.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

“Thanks for the save, Hattori.” Conan sighed, now a safe distance from the girl. Hattori only laughed.

“No problem Kudo, now, let me tell you what I know.” He began to explain the situation. The group had entered the café about twenty minutes prior to the time of the incident, apparently to celebrate the victim’s promotion at work. They all had ordered drinks and sat around chatting until the victim complained about a headache. The victim’s girlfriend then handed him a bottle of brand name headache medicine which he the took with a drink of his own half-full cup. Immediately after, the victim collapsed to the floor in pain, dying.

“Did you check for an almond smell?” The smaller detective questioned. Hattori scoffed, looking slightly offended.

“Course I did. What d’ya think I am, an amateur?” Conan laughed nervously. “There wasn't a smell, and just in case, the police will be here soon to double check. The girlfriend is definitely the most suspicious at this point though.” With a hum of agreement, Conan began to walk over to where the suspects stood, looking shocked and saddened.

“Excuse me.” he started, staring up at the adults before him, “Which one of you is that man's girlfriend?” he pointed toward where the police-fresh on the scene- were beginning their investigation of the body.

“That’s would be me.” A young woman wearing a clearly expensive dress stood and kneeled down at the boy’s inquiry. What she was doing in a small café wearing evening wear was beyond him, but he admired her determination to radiate wealth. “Is something wrong?” her head tilted in question. Quickly, he shook his own.

“No, but that detective” he pointed at Heiji, “asked if he could see that bottle of headache medicine.”

“Of course.” the woman replied, reaching into her large and equally expensive matching handbag. “He had a problem with headaches, you know, always seemed to have one.” She pulled out the small bottle and handed it to Conan. In turn, the boy quickly said a word of thanks, then briskly walked back toward Heiji. He unscrewed the lid as he arrived at his friend and took a whiff. ‘ _ Hattori was right, no almonds. I hate it when Hattori is right.’  _ he pulled out his handkerchief and shook one of the small pills into his hand. After closely examining it, he tied up his handkerchief with a sigh. It looked like a regular pill.

“Here,” he said, handing the bottle up to Heiji, “one non-poisoned bottle of pills.”

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Kaito was getting tired of being here. There was only so long a person could be questioned and re-questioned while trying not to be seen by one very small and very intelligent detective before the stress really becomes too much. It had been a couple hours, the body had been sent away for the toxicology report, yet the poor group of friends the victim had come here with was still being questioned. Of course, the police had questioned them before the body was removed, but now Hattori Heiji, whom Kaito only recognized due to researching him after Hakuba complained about him for weeks, and his coconspirator were asking the group more questions than the police.

Kaito was currently staring out the window in order to hide his face from the young detective's eyes, and if Aoko spoke to him, he made sure he was speaking in a near whisper, much to his friend’s confusion. The soft murmur of the others in the café would have been nice if the tension in the room wasn’t made of solid steel.Even the girls who had followed in the pair of detectives, apparently they had been standing outside waiting in the police, looked like they would rather be anywhere else. 

“What!” The exclamation was piercing through the eerie near silence permeating the room. On reflex, Kaito whipped his head toward the source of the voice, Conan. “Could you say that again?” Desperation bled out of his voice, a hopeful, yet somehow fearful look shone on his face.

“I said I dropped my bag before I got here and the bottle of pills had fallen out, so a gentleman picked it up for me.” The lady whom Kaito assumed to be the victim’s girlfriend looked frightened at the young boy’s intense stare.

“And the man, what did he look like?”

“He was dressed fairly formally, he was wearing a black suit and hat and sunglasses.” Conan’s eyes widened to a point where the magician though it had to be an illusion.

At that moment, an officer ran back into the room. “Sir! The toxicology report is in, you aren't going to believe this.” Megure, who had been the first officer on the scene, took the paper his subordinate had run in with and gave it a quick once over. 

“This isn't possible!” he exclaimed, “It says he didn't die from anything!” Everyone's attention then shifted from Megure to the small boy who had just run out of the door with a terrifying speed.

Kaito had absolutely no clue as to what just happened.


	10. A Year Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day he received his wings has come once again, but will Shinichi receive a gift this year as well?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a couple time skips in this one, but I hope it doesn't flow to terribly ;^^

Haibara sighed as she pushed herself away from her desk in the professor's basement. She sighed again as she pinched the bridge of her nose, willing herself to gain more energy to continue working. It had been about several months since Kudo had burst into the professor's house without any warning and started shouting excitedly about finding a pill. Of course, she understood what he meant, but the other detective boys were more concerned that he had gotten hold of something he shouldn't have. The memory still made her smile.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

_“Haibara! You aren't going to believe this! I have a pill. A. PILL.” Kudo’s tone was mirthful and light, a tone his appearance suggested. He came to a halt in front of where Haibara and the other detective boys were seated._

_“A pill?” Genta questioned, confusion plain on his face. “ Why would you need pill? Do you have a headache?” Kudo flinched, Haibara could practically see him forming the lie he was trying as his regret at blurring out in excitement took hold of his expression._

_“Conan-kun! Did you just find some random medicine? You can't do that! You don't just own what it's for!” Ayumi had a look of concern on her face as Mitsuhiko nodded his agreement. Genta also joined in with them, each saying something different about the dangers of drugs, as if Conan wasn't the one to teach them about some of those facts. Haibara decided to finally intervene, after all, he did say something about a pill. A. Pill. She hoped this wasn't just some miscommunication._

_“That's enough.” Haibara commanded, the room falling silent around here. “Edogawa-kun just found the right type of medicine for Kudo-san, didn’t he?” Conan stared at her, gratefulness filling his face._

_“That’s right, Shinichi-nii-san needed this.” He let out a nervous laugh, a tell that others should be able to catch on too far sooner than they do. “So Haibara, can you take a look at it?” His face dropped into a serious expression as he held out his handkerchief. In turn, Haibara gingerly took hold of the parcel, as if she were going to cradle a baby bird in her hands._

_“I’ll do my best.”_

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

At the moment, her ‘best’ consisted of her running test after test of all of the compounds found in the apoptoxin, a challenge she was determined to overcome. Her data was almost complete, after tireless hours spent stuck in the basement staring intensely at graphs and percentages. She had a deadline she wanted to keep after all. With a smile, she turned to look the small calendar she kept on the desk. With care she lifted up the April page to look at the date she circled in red. It was the most she could do to repay him for everything he has done and no doubt will do.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Kaito has been exhausted. From the heist, to Aoko’s soulmate, to a murder, he has had absolutely no time to relax, even though it had been quite a while since those happenings. School work had hit him like a bus, even if he could pass all of his classes with ease, the workload was nothing to scoff at.

His biggest problem seemed to be Aoko, however. She had become unusually perceptive since her bond with Hakuba had been discovered, almost like she inherited his ability of deduction, which became even stranger when he factored Hakuba in. It was like the Brit suddenly had a heart. Whenever he would meet Kaito’s eyes he would have a _soft look_ on his face, like a mix of pity and caring, a look he saw often enough on Aoko. Maybe he had been shot at that heist and he was in his own personal Hell. That would make more sense. Or maybe Akako wasn’t just being mushy when she said soulmates have their own kind of magic...nah, she was just being mushy.

With a sigh, Kaito flopped onto his bed and picked up the Kudo phone, a name he had blessed the item with quickly after discovering who was on the other end. He always kept the item near him, sometimes he would use it in place of his real phone. Opening up the text messages, he read back through some of their past conversations, a ritual he had come to develop if he was feeling low. The detective was just so witty, and even if it was something harsh, they both knew it was send in fun and they respected each other all the more.

He stopped at a fairly recent string of texts, it was one of their more serious discussions, a surprisingly rare occurrence even though he was given the phone in order to form a battle plan against the Black Organization. Kudo had texted him out of the blue almost a solid two months ago, fairly cryptically.

 

**S** \- _I might be able to meet you in person soon_

**K** \- _Oh~ I can hardly wait to meet my knight in shining armor~_

**S** \- _It’s still only a possibility, I might never get to see you in person, but I’m hoping I can soon_

**K** \- _Now you’re scaring me Meitantei. You aren’t in serious trouble, are you_

**S** \- _I’m always in serious trouble, I have to go, I’ll try to talk to you soon_

 

‘ _Why does he always have to be so cryptic’_ Kaito mentally huffed as he continued scrolling farther back to a conversation they had about the difference between moose and mousse and how silly it was that english had made the words so similar even though they were worlds apart. ‘ _He should tell me if he needs help, he can trust me.’_ They were partners in crime after all, well, Kaito was doing the crime and Shinichi was trying to stop crime, though not particularly Kaito’s, though he did try and stop Kaito’s as well, and now he’s just confused himself.

Kudo was a weird subject for Kaito, he wanted to talk to him more and see all of the detective’s reactions to Kaito’s flirtatious jokes he would so _rudely_ turn down with his own stinging comments. Kaito often wondered what the detective was actually, whether he was the pretentious jerk the news reports made him out to be, or if the real him was the one he was holding in his hand. He caught his reflection in the phone, his face looked sad and lonely, maybe he was letting his poker face down in class and that's why the two lovebirds were getting on his case, it wouldn't surprise him. Maybe he could be more confident with this whole situation if he was able to meet Kudo face to face, he didn't know. Honestly, he just didn't know what to think anymore.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

It had been months since Conan gave Haibara that pill. She had confirmed that it was a modified version of the apoptoxin, but he was still worried that the antidote would never be created. What's worse, it was May now, May fourth to be specific. Just a year ago he had woken up to find his soulmark burned into his back, a pair of wings which haven't brought him the freedom he always hoped they would.

Maybe he should just give up on finding his soulmate. He just wanted to be able to spend time with KID. The more he talked to the thief, the deeper in love he felt himself fall. KID’s humor, his trickster smirk, the hidden kindness, he wanted to know it all. He knew there was no possible way the thief could be his soulmate. They were worlds apart and as soon as the Org is taken down they will have absolutely no reason to see on another.

Conan sighed as he turned his phone on. He turned off the Shinichi phone last night since everyone, more specifically Ran, would call him to wish him a happy birthday. He hadn't been willing to put up with her cheery congratulations and questions about when he would come back. Watching the screen blink to life, he saw he had, in fact missed several calls from Ran-ten, to be exact- but there was also a single text message-Ran never liked to send a text when a call could be more meaningful.

Opening the messenger, he saw the contact he personalized, Kaitou. If someone ever found his phone, they would think nothing of the name and would probably assume it was a typo. It was a fun joke with himself in the end. The message was simple enough, but it still tugged endlessly on his heartstrings.

**K** \- _Happy Birthday, Meitantei_

God, he was so stupidly in love. It was just a normal message, but he wanted to print it out and hang it on his wall. As he was lamenting over this fact, his other phone buzzed with a new message. Picking it up, he felt a jolt of adrenaline and expectation course through him. It was from Haibara. She wanted him to come over to the professor’s immediately, which, of course, he did.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

“Haibara!” The professor’s front door slammed open, causing said small scientist to jump slightly.

“You know, Kudo-kun, that’s the second time you’ve excitedly slammed open the professor’s door, and it’s already old.” Conan huffed.

“Well, can you blame me?” He crossed the room to stand in front of where she was sitting on the couch. She looked exhausted, bags were under her eyes and she was drinking a cup of coffee, black. Not to mention it looked like she just crawled out of the basement, her lab coat was still on. “I could only think of one specific reason you would want me over on a day like this.” Haibara smirked and met his eyes. With a slow, almost teasing movement, she pulled a small, nondescript pill from under her lab coat.

“Happy birthday, Kudo Shinichi.”


	11. A First Meeting for a Second Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back, back again.

 

The preparations for Kudo Shinichi’s return took longer than most if the people involved assumed. He was still on the Org’s hit list if they discovered he was alive, so he need to find a place to stay, his house was out of the question, not only was it obvious, but Akai was still undercover there as well. He called Ran as himself and asked if he could sleep in the agency for a while, she agreed, but Kogoro had taken a little longer to convince.

Haibara held him for a few days after he took the antidote in order to be sure it actually worked. During that time, the proper paperwork was filed for Conan to be withdrawn from school, allowing everyone to assume he was leaving for America to live with his parents again. The Detective Boys were upset, but Shinichi made sure they had a “farewell” party for him so they wouldn't be too angry.

After about two weeks of being stuck inside the professor's house, having constant tests performed on him to make sure he was stable, he was able to walk around his home town as himself for the first time in a year. It was strange, but so incredibly wonderful that he couldn't stop smiling. Haibara made fun of him, of course, but a genuine smile was on her face as well.

Now, he was living in the detective agency just as before, the only difference was that he was now several feet taller and Kogoro disliked his presence more than before. He slept on the couch in the office and only went into the Mouris’ actual residence for meals, not that he stayed there often  enough to actually eat meals together. He appreciated their, somewhat aggressive and reluctant, hospitality, but between Kogoro’s obvious disdain, Ran’s incessant pestering about where and what he had been doing, and the fact that his presence there put them in danger, he didn't want the remain there longer than he had to. 

Today he was more than excited to leave the agency. He had spent the two weeks isolation at the professor’s house setting up a face to face meeting with KID. His heart wouldn't stop beating with the anticipation of being able to see him properly for the first time. He set up the meeting at the clocktower they had met at before. His excuse was that they had both been there before, but he just wanted to meet there since it held a lot of sentiment to him.

His walk to the meeting place was spent looking at any reflective surface and staring at his reflection. His jawline, his broader shoulders, he was glad that his athletic build wasn't affected by being so small for such a long time. He felt like himself, but he also felt so different than before. He knew he wasn't invincible, and he knew he had to pick his battles carefully, the constant fear he would be shot and killed at any point in time solidified that.

He was at the top of the clock tower before the time of their meeting, 2:12-no such thing as too dramatic, so he stood back in the shadows, hoping to see KID before KID saw him.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Kaito could believe he was finally going to met his accomplice after almost a year of working together. After Shinichi’s quite depressing string of texts of the possibility to never meet one another in person or the like, Kaito was worried about the detective’s safety, then he received a text one day just asking if they could meet soon. 

It was strange, almost like too much happened at once. Shinichi was returning, then the magician found out that Conan was leaving to America- yes he spyed on the kid a little, he was young and in a dangerous plan- and then he also finds out that the meeting wouldn't be a “Hi, it's nice to finally meet you in person” meeting, but a, “Hey, this is the first time I'm actually meeting you, but I found this jewel is coming into town and it's a prime target” meeting. If there was only one thing the thief knew for sure, was that Kudo Shinichi wasted no time.

Kaito arrived at the clock tower slightly behind schedule. Aoko had kept him longer than he had hoped, she did that recently, tried to have him stay longer then pester him with probing questions, he didn't know what was with her recent detective streak, but it was really starting to seem threatening. He rushed to the top of the tower, avoiding cameras and doing little quick changes until he made it to the top in complete incognito KID gear.

The room was empty, and there was no sign that the detective had made it there yet. Maybe it was just Hakuba and his obsession with time, but he assumed a detective would never be late for a meeting. Assuming he was alone, Kaito took a moment to stretch his arms and breath after his rush to make it up there. “It's  a pleasure to finally meet you,” a voice came from the shadowed part of the room, causing Kaito to jump slightly, “Kaitou KID-san.” the voice had a humorous lilt to it and it was scarily similar to himself. Turning to face the direction the voice had come from, Kaito saw a young man about his height and build I merge from the shadows, ‘ _ It's no wonder I didn't notice him.’  _ he observed, analyzing the detective’s emerging form, ‘ _ That part of the room is as black as ink.’  _

Certain the man before him was none other than the Kudo Shinichi he had come to trust, Kaito took a casual, yet confident stance. “Well, well, well, if it isn't the Meitantei which only seemed to exist within my phone. It a pleasure to finally see your  _ absolutely beautiful  _ face.” Shinichi snickered.

“Oh dear me, I wasn't aware you came here to court me.” 

“Well of course I did, what else is a gentleman thief supposed to do?” 

“Hmm, maybe he should turn himself into the police?” 

“You wound me tantei-kun.” the thief  threw his hand to his forehead, like a woman about to faint dramatically.

“Just doing my job.” Shinichi replied. After a beat, they both burst out laughing. Their conversations always seemed to mimic this pattern, KID flirting obnoxiously, Shinichi taunting him with the threat of the police. Kaito was glad he was able to have someone to talk to like this.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

‘ _ Hold it together Shinichi!’  _ the detective mentally berated himself. He should be used to KID’s flirtatious nature by now, what with all the jokes they exchanged over text. It was probably just the shock factor from having KID tell him that he was beautiful in person. The thief had told him that he had looked him up before, so it of course came with remarks about how handsome he is. It took all his effort not to show KID just how embarrassed he was.

“It really is a delight to finally meet you, tantei-kun.” KID remarked. Shinichi shook himself out of his embarrassment to focus back on KID. The thief was smiling, a genuine smile. Shinchi hoped the magician couldn’t hear how loud his heart was pounding. ‘ _ I’m such a mess’ _ Shinchi once again berated himself, the thief could make him blush with such a simple phrase, ‘ _ I’m a professional, he is a thief. Get. It. Together. Shinichi.’  _  Shinchi breathed in as inconspicuously as possible before he cleared his throat.

“Of course, it would be ridiculous if I was never able to meet my partner in person.” Shinichi smiled back at the thief. ‘ _ Really Shinichi? Partner? Why don’t you just say you love him?!’ _

“The way you were talking for a while really worried me you know. It sounded like you were never coming back to Japan period.” KID sounded sad, worry tinged in his voice. The thief’s melancholy translated over to Shinichi.

“I’m sorry KID, I didn’t mean to worry you, I didn’t want to worry anyone. I just… Circumstances called for me to be prepared for the worst.”

“That’s why we have to take down this organization.” KID’s tone turned angry, Shinchi heard the fabric of the thief’s gloves scrap against each other as he clenched his fists.

“Right, that’s why I came here with a new target for you.”

“My my, Meitantei, turning to a life of crime?”

  
“If it means saving the people I care about, of course.”


	12. Here Come the Waterworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is formed between a phantom thief and his favorite detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, writer's block struck again;;; This chapter is fairly long in the hope that it makes up for last chapter, and I was unconsciously trying to put off actually writing the heist;;;

Kaito had to admit, the man knew how to heist. Kudo’s information had every detail Kaito would normally research for a heist and then some. It was a little unnerving, actually, it seemed like all he had to do was have KID show up, do a little magic, and disappear. 

The target of the heist was a pearl necklace with a large aquamarine as the main attraction. It acquired multiple names over the years, as noted by the great detective, but the one it was being displayed as was “The Siren’s Call”. It was travelling with a collection dedicated to different myths about mermaids and sea monsters and such. Apparently the curator was a fanatic about the topic, but Kaito didn’t see the appeal.

The exhibit would be in Tokyo for three weeks starting on the coming Monday on the twentieth floor of one of the largest buildings in Tokyo, and Shinichi thought KID would be able to give the collection the greeting it deserved. ‘ _ Well, he’s not wrong. _ ’ Kaito smirked thinking of all the possibilities for the heist. He flipped the page, still entertaining his delusions, and read the rest of the information the Great Detective included. “‘As this gem is one of the largest of its kind, it is reasonable to assume it will be targeted by the organization at the public viewing. Several attempts have been made for the gem in previous years, but the necklace had always been under tight security until now. Using KID as a smokescreen, it is most probable the Org will make an appearance.’ Well well, Meitantei, you really have covered everything.” Kaito chuckled as he skimmed over counter measures Shinichi thought of. “I do believe we have the makings of a great heist.”

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Shinichi was nervous, not only was this his first major public appearance since he returned to his normal body, but the major role he had in planning this heist made him a bit nervous to see how it would end up. He chuckled to himself, “It really is like putting on a show.”

“What’s like putting on a show?” A voice startled him from behind, with a slight jump, the detective turned to meet the face of another one of his kind, along with his newly found soulmate.

“Hakuba! And Miss Nakamori I presume?” he let out some embarrassed laughter, he couldn’t believe he was so lost in thought that he never noticed their arrival. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” he held out a hand which the other detective took politely.  

“Wow Hakuba, I know you said they look similar, but this is just uncanny!” Nakamori stated abruptly.

“Um, excuse me?” Shinichi looked at her, slightly confused as he met her eyes. The girl jumped at the eye contact, ‘ _ Is she embarrassed?’ _ Shinichi studied her face, but no signs of that particular emotion were present, and he was reminded of the time he ran into her at the cafe murder.

“Oh, I’m sorry, that was rude. You just look  _ incredibly _ similar to my best friend. If it weren’t for how polite you are, I would have thought you were him.” She let out a small laugh.

“I’m afraid it’s true, Kudo-kun, I only have to see him at school and that’s already too much interaction with the man for me.” Hakuba also laughed, but when he met Shinichi's eyes, he also quickly looked away. ‘ _ What is with them?’ _ Shinchi scrunched his face in a mixture of confusion and slight agitation, ‘ _ Is this some sort of soulmate thing I don’t know about?’ _

“By the way, Kudo-san, how did you know who I was?” Nakamori looked just past him as she addressed him. Flustered, Shinichi realized there would be no way for him to have a reason to actually know who Nakamori Aoko was.

“Oh! Um, I, actually,” The soulmates looked at the other detective as he blustered,” I’m related to Edogawa Conan, and he told me about meeting you.” Shinichi ended with a little laugh as embarrassment covered his face.

“Oh, that might be why…” Nakamori trailed off. Shinichi let out a questioning noise and it was the girl’s turn to be flustered. “Oh, I’m sorry, just thinking out loud.”

“Oh, well, I have to be going, there was one last thing I wanted to look into before the heist. I’ll see you later.” With a wave, Shinchi jogged over to where the task force was congregated. Leaving the pair of soulmates looking a bit sadly at the detective’s retreating form.

“You saw it too, right Hakuba-kun?” Aoko said softly, her hand grasped firmly in her soulmate’s.

“Yeah, it was hard to miss.” Hakuba replied, in a tone just as soft.

What they hand both seen were chains, similar to their dear friend Kaito’s. Black, heavy-looking, with locks littered all across them. Almost exactly what Aoko had seen in Shinichi's relative, the KID-killer himself.

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Kaito had watched his accomplice’s painful exchange with Aoko and Hakuba from where he was roosting in the ceiling. It was strange to see the person he had become so close to as KID meet the people who he was close to as Kuroba Kaito, well, maybe he wasn’t as close to Hakuba as he was to Aoko, but he had to admit that Hakuba had wormed his way into his heart over the past few months, even if Kaito still was uncomfortable with his best friend having the detective as a soulmate.

The plan he created for this heist was anything thing that twisted his stomach. The jewel was closely related with the sea, so of course he had to make such a wonderful theme a reality. He hated the ocean, not because it was the ocean, but because of what lurked in it. It was hard to create an idea for the heist which didn't involve Kaitou KID’s one weakness, but, of course, he came up with a brilliant idea a few days before the heist. 

The plan was nothing elaborate, he just needed a distraction for the civilians and the police force so they wouldn't see what was actually going on. Jii had been on lookout since they arrived on the scene, and the man reported he hadn't seen any suspicious activity. Kaito hoped it would stay that way, but he had a feeling worming around in his stomach which wouldn't let him relax.

He glanced back at his favorite detective. Kudo was talking with the task force. There was something about the other which was familiar to Kaito. Yes, they looked almost identical, but Kaito felt that there was absolutely nothing to do with that in his nagging recollection. He was also incredibly similar to his favorite tiny tantei-kun, but that was most likely because Kudo had taught Conan.

Kudo made Kaito feel comfortable. Whether it was their long chat sessions over text, or when they met in person, the man made Kaito feel like he could trust him one hundred percent. He was witty with a large serving of sass, but he was also incredibly kind. After their alliance was formed, he would always come back from a heist with a text from Shinichi waiting for him, asking if anything had happened and if he was safe and unharmed. 

He didn't understand why the detective was so concerned with him. At first he thought it was due to their alliance, but as time wore on and he shared with Kudo some more casual conversations he felt that the detective actually cared about him as if he was a friend.  _ ‘It's so stupid  _ ‘ Kaito thought bitterly,  _ ‘We can't be friends. I'm a thief, he's a detective, and both of our lives are constantly in danger.’  _ He was the one who thought of it, but the idea made his heart feel heavy, like his subconscious was rejecting it.

Trying to ignore the feeling, Kaito checked his watch and smirked . ‘ _ It’s showtime.’ _

 

~~♡♤♡~~

 

Shinichi had been given a vague idea of the plan of the heist. He felt dirty having to go against the law, but it was necessary if they wanted to protect everyone. KID had assured him that the jewel would be returned quickly if it was not the gem he was looking for. If it was…well, KID gave no promises.

Glancing at his watch, he noted how close it was to the starting time, and a shiver creeped down his spine. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that something was going to go wrong, but that had been there since he walked into the building. No, this feeling was one he was far more familiar with, though one he hadn't experienced as Shinichi. This was the feeling he had right before KID was about to do something completely off the walls. Reassuring himself that KID would have told him to expect something of huge scale, he remained straight faced as the time of the heist was upon them and the lights went black. He was fine, until  _ Under the Sea _ from  _ The Little Mermaid  _ began blasting through the speakers and the lights returned to the mirage of the room being underwater.

“Welcome to my underwater kingdom!” KID’s voice reverberated across the room, somehow louder than the music streaming from the speakers. “I hope you all will enjoy this visit to the coral palace!”

Suddenly the lights dimmed again, a spotlight on one of the exhibits drawing the rooms attention. “As you can see, the royal treasury has no lack of marvelous artifacts,” as the still hidden thief spoke, spotlights would illuminate and dim on different exhibits, like he was giving each piece it's own time to shine, “but the prized possession,  you see, is this!” the last spotlight on “The Siren’s Call” was turned on, making the jewel in question sparkle making the room sparkle even more like the sea.

“As you all can see, the necklace’s prized aquamarine carries the soul of the sea within it. Any lady would love to be adorn with such a jewel, and any man would be enamored with the siren who wears it,so I,” In a quick flash, the lights went dark, only to be brought back up, revealing the phantom himself sitting casually on the jewel’s case,” as a gentleman will deliver this gem to the mother of the ocean itself.”

In a flurry, the task force advanced toward KID, Nakamori-keibu releasing his signature cry to “Catch that thief!” Meanwhile, KID danced fluidly around them, weaving through the crowd with ease and grace. Soon, Shinchi found himself face to face with the thief. “Really sorry about what's about to happen Tantei-kun. I can't imagine would make a cute drowned kitten.” Shinchi struggled to comprehend what the thief meant, he found the task force congregating closer to the stairwell, where he assumed, but couldn't see, where KID was.

“Just a moment my dear officers!” KID’s voice once again we boomed across the room. “I do believe all of you forgot the single most important part of the ocean!” 

“Oh no.” Shinichi breathed.

“Oh yes!” KID cackled, mischief pouring out of his voice. “You can't be  _ under the sea _ if there is no  _ sea to be under. _ ” Then, as if he had said the magic words, the ceiling groaned. In a panic, Shinichi raced toward the stairwell were the officers were still located, around him other people stood in shock in realization of what was about to happen.

Suddenly, water began to pour from the ceiling, not violently, but certainly at a faster rate than everyone in the room was comfortable with. The floor became slick and the police tumbled over themselves as they tried to get through the fire doors to the escaping thief, but none of them had any luck.

With a burst of determination, Shinchi slid across the floor towards the mass of officers, practically leap frogged over their backs, and threw himself through the fire doors, which he thought he heard lock behind him. KID, who was already a floor above him, gave the detective a little wave before disappearing further up the stairwell.

Shinichi didn't know why, but he felt something big was about to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I have something super important to announce on Friday, so I hope you all will be on the lookout for that.


	13. An Important Announcement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter, but incredibly important.

At this time, I have decided in go on a permanent hiatus from this fic. Please try to understand this decision, it's one I didn't make lightly. Regrettably,  it has come to this so I only hope you won't be to angry with me. I have struggled with the stress of my school workload and writer's block, as I'm sure you're aware. Long story short, this is the end of Love's.

Future projects are probable, just not for me. Our account is a shared one after all. One day I might return to writing, but it won't be anytime soon. Luckily, there are much better authors who can fill the disappointment I have left you with. So long.

  
                                             -Player 2


	14. And Now, The Moment You've All Been Waiting For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

By the time he had made it onto the roof, the uneasy know in Shinichi’s stomach had grown into a boulder, heavy, thick fear seemed to permeate the air. KID was standing near the edge of the roof, jewel held to the sky, but even though he had to know that Shinichi was standing behind him, the thief made no move to escape. “KID?” Shinichi ventured, “Are you alright?” KID turned toward him, the necklace hanging loosely from his fingers, dangling and shimmering in the moonlight.

“Tantei-kun,” KID breathed, “You really know what you're doing.” A smile grew across the thief’s face and it was so radiant that Shinichi couldn't help but to begin to smile as well. “I'm really glad we're on the same side. Shinichi’s heart began to beat faster at the thief’s comment, and he opened his mouth to speak before KID, who was still standing on the ledge of the roof, decided to make a getaway. The task force was sure to be on their way up to the roof. Suddenly, a loud noise from behind Shinichi made his blood run cold.  _ Gunshot _ .

Fear coursed through his veins as he watched as the bullet hit the thief’s shoulder, where his hang glider was attached. He immediately understood that the device would be to damaged to use, Shinichi had a sinking feeling of what the next course of action the assailants would take.

Suddenly, all of Shinichi’s nightmares of the past year, the only nightmare’s he had since he realized just how much he cared for KID, came true. He watched as Kaitou KID, a criminal he had grown so attached to, was shot in the shoulder, forcing him to stagger backwards and off the ledge of the building. Shinichi’s eyes had to be tricking him, slowing down time so he could see the strangely graceful fall in slow, fluid motion. 

Shinichi’s feet were moving before his brain could even register the thief’s descent. The only thing perfectly clear in his mind was how ridiculous it would be if he let KID fall. ‘ _ May God smite me if I let the one I love die.’ _

~~♡♤♡~~

_ ‘Oh’ _ Kaito thought, ‘ _ I’m going to die.’ _ Truth be told, it was an incredibly morbid outlook, but what other outlook could be held when one was falling from a thirty story building without a means of living. He was falling face up, and time felt like it was moving through a thick, heavy fog, slowly and without a sign of ending, and he knew he was in shock, so he took a moment to recognize how lovely the sky looked tonight. The blackout he had caused for his heist had taken out the surrounding buildings over several blocks, so those few brave stars burst through the velvet curtain of the night.

“KID!” The voice was raw with emotion, strong emotion. ‘ _ Must be Shinichi.’ _ he thought, ‘ _ I hope he solves my murder, not Hakuba, Shinichi is my favorite.’ _ Thinking about it, he had always favored Shinichi, even though he had technically known Hakuba longer, heck, Hakuba knew him in his civilian persona, and when had he started calling Shinichi by his first name? They only really met in person one time. ‘ _ I should’ve told Shinichi.’ _ he thought,  _ ‘I should’ve told him who I was. He wouldn’t tell, not Shinichi.’ _ He thought back to a last year, he had sworn to himself never to even think about telling anyone, not even his soulmate, so why was Shinichi an exception?

“KID!” the voice was louder, closer this time, when had he closed his eyes? He slowly opened them, and opened them wide. The idiot detective had jumped off of the building after him, Kaito knew Shinichi didn’t have anything on him that could save their lives, if Conan had never taken any sort of flying apparatus to any of Kaito’s heists, why would Shinichi? The detectives had trusted him enough to return the jewels without being caught, that was probably why he had Conan confront KID about working together to take down their common enemy in the Black Organization. ‘ _ He must be an idiot, he should have just let me die _ ’. Kaito closed his eyes once again, tears stinging the back of his eyes. Why did he even let Shinichi get so close to him in the first place.

“Like  **_Hell_ ** I’m letting you just go and die on me you idiot!” His eyes shot open again, he must of said it out loud, or Shinichi could just tell what he was thinking.

“Well, you should have just let me, now you’ll die too!” He decided to yell back. ‘ _ This is stupid.’ _ he thought, ‘ _ This is so stupid. We’re falling to our deaths and we’re arguing.’  _ Tears were flowing freely from Kaito’s eyes now, he was letting out gross sobs. “And I don’t want  _ you _ to die Shinichi!” 

That was interesting. Why didn’t he want Shinichi to die? They were just rivals, no not rivals, accomplices. No, not accomplices, friends. ‘ _ I don’t want to just be friends.’ _ he thought. Why didn’t he want to be friends? More than friends? What’s more than friends?

“Just hold onto me you idiot! It would be lonely if you die by yourself!” Shinichi had accelerated his fall in order to catch up with Kaito, the idiot, but he was still an arms width away, his outstretched, trying to reach Kaito. The magician suddenly remembered his sixteenth birthday, Aoko reaching her hand toward Kaito like she had wanted to touch his soulmark. The command in Shinichi’s voice had unconsciously made Kaito outstretch his hand to grab Shinichi’s. Why was he thinking about that curse now? His soulmark would be left half completed anyway.

“I wish you had been my soulmate.” Kaito had whispered it, the words leaving his lips unconsciously, to soft for Shinichi to hear. ‘ _ Wait’ _ Kaito thought, ‘ _ I wish what?’ _ Oh, how plainly obvious, he was an idiot. And Kaito thought that he was perceptive. The meaningless conversations, the metal teasing, the way Shinichi had blushed when Kaito had flirted with him when they met in the clocktower, and how Kaito thought just how badly he wanted to see Shinichi blush even more. 

’ _ God dammit.’  _ he thought, a strange sort of anger coloring the phrase, “God dammit, Kudo Shinichi!” they were falling faster now, they had to be nearing the ground. “You kept me alive long enough just so you could do the impossible!” Shinichi could hear him that time, a look of concern crossed his face, “You kept me alive just long enough to realize that  **_I love you_ ** , God dammit!”

Suddenly, it was like time had stopped completely. ‘ _ I think it actually has.’ _ Kaito thought. The tears that had been flying out of his eyes were hovering in the air, like magic. Kaito returned his full focus to Shinichi, who was staring dead into Kaito’s eyes, he had been crying too.

“I love you too.” Shinichi had spoken it so softly, but Kaito had heard the words as clear as day. He couldn’t believe it, he had been such an idiot. He had spent the past two years convincing himself never to fall in love and then he went and literally did it.The situation was so outrageous that a laugh bubbled out of his throat. To his surprise, and pleasure, Shinichi started laughing to. Suddenly they both were laughing, suspended in midair, like they weren't about to die. His chest grew warm from the laughter and it slowly spread throughout his entire body. He was just so happy that he could finally love someone after closing his heart off after so many years, after he had lost hope of ever having a soulmate he could truly love, the sheer joy turned into more laughter, and he closed his eyes just to enjoy the warmth.

~~♡♤♡~~

A warmth was flowing through Shinichi, a warmth that sprouted from his sheer joy at hearing that the idiot thief he had be pining over for so long loved him too. Shinichi suddenly realized that the warmth he was feeling wasn't just some happy, bubbly sensation, but an actual heat that began to center around his back, spread across it. It burned, burned like it should have hurt, but it just, didn't. The feeling was relaxing, in a strange, twisted way. No one should feel relaxed when it felt like the sun was being  _ burned into your skin. _ ‘ _ Wait.’ _ Shinichi looked at KID, ‘ _ No way. NO WAY!’ _ Shinichi watched as an angelic light bloomed from KID’s back. The light glowed brighter and Shinichi’s heart tightened in his chest. 

KID was smiling so wide it looked like the smile would split his face and his laugh was clear and remained Shinichi of the ringing of bells. “Like an angel.” Shinichi mumbled out loud, though the thief didn't respond. 

Apparently the universe did, for the light dimmed slightly, revealing a beautiful pair of wings which spread out on either side of KID. The color was incredible, white near the thief’s shoulders and they slowly turned into a deep crimson. Shinichi breathed in a gasp as he took in the full view of his crush, no, his  _ soulmate,  _ absolutely angelic, floating in the air. ‘ _ God, I'm so lucky to have you.’ _

~~♡♤♡~~

Kaito was still laughing, and crying, but filled with so much joy that it had to be a crime. He heard Shinichi mumbled, and soon after gasp. He slowly opened his eyes to look at his recently discovered love, and he had to blink them a few times more since the sight before him couldn't be real.

Shinichi was staring at him, eyes filled with wonder and love, his hand still holding Kaito’s own, but behind him splayed a beautiful set of wings that were colored like, wait, was that the color of Kaito’s  _ soulmark? _ “Oh my God.” Kaito breathed. “I'm dreaming right? This can't be real, it's to good to be true.” Shinichi laughed and nodded in confirmation that, yes, this was real and, yes, this should be to good to be true.

Kaito stared awestruck at his soulmate.  _ Soulmate.  _ The cursed word Kaito swore to never believe in, that was who was by his side for the past year. That was who he had given his full trust of without meeting him in person. That was who jumped off of a building with no plan just because if he couldn't save Kaito, he didn't want him to die alone. Kudo Shinichi was his soulmate and he couldn't be happier.

Suddenly, he felt himself move again, slowly and gently floating downward. The fact that he should have been squashed like a bug against the pavement returned to him, but the fact he hadn't been came as no surprise to him, after all, Akako kept nagging him about how magical soulmates were. 

Holding no more fear of death, Kaito continued to gaze lovingly at Shinichi, whose face was a conflict of trying to return his gaze and trying to figure out how  _ they were floating on magical wings of love _ , and the scene was to funny for the magician who started to laugh once again.

He was still laughing as he felt his back touch the ground and, apparently, the universe decided they were safe enough that it just dropped Shinichi before he could touch the ground, landing on Kaito. The impact didn't hurt, but it did force some air out of his still giggly body. As the detective lifted himself off of the crushed thief, he began to laugh as well. “ I think we should get out of here before the task force decides to come investigate.” he stood, brushed himself off, and offered his hand to help the other off of the ground.

“Sounds like a plan, Tantei-kun, but don't think for a second that you're not coming with me.” Shinichi’s smile widened as the phantom thief grabbed the detective’s hand, stood, kept holding his hand, and began to pull him into an alley. A smile he had never before seen on KID seemed permanently stick on his face, but Shinichi didn't mind, he felt the same. ‘ _ God, I'm so in love _ .’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My notice, first letter of every sentence.


	15. Dark Streets and a Humble Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After finally finding each other, Kaito and Shinichi can't even find a moment to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a small apology to my awful joke, I present a second chapter.

They continued to run through alleys, KID leading them through the twists and turns, and Shinichi couldn't be happier. He felt light, like he was still floating with those incredible wings. He watched KID rummage in his pocket with his free hand and pull out an ear piece. He put it in his ear without much difficulty and began to speak. “Jii-chan?” he paused to look at the split in the alley before he jumped slightly. “Geez, no, I'm okay Jii-chan, the bullets only grazed me.” he began moving again, his grip tightened on Shinichi’s hand. “Yes, I know I fell off of a building… I'm fine, really. I'm heading to the rendezvous and I have tantei-kun with me.” The detective watched as KID  once again jumped a little, slowing down once more. “Don't worry about it, you'll understand when we get there.” With a huff, KID removed the device and shoved it back into his pocket.

He turned his gaze to Shinichi who was slightly flustered to be caught staring, “Hang on Meitantei, I need to change into something less conspicuous.” He let go of Shinichi’s hand and, in a flash of pink smoke, changed quickly into his usual after-heist black outfit.

“How many pairs of clothes do you keep on you?” Shinichi wondered aloud. KID smirked in return.

“Oh, you know, however many is necessary, why, do you want to see me in something specific?” His tone was light and flirtatious, Shinichi could only remain flustered. “You turn such an incredible shade of red, Meitantei, it's hard to believe that color can even occur on a human face.” KID laughed, his voice mirthful, and through sound was so joyous Shinichi smiled in return.

“Where are we going anyway?” the detective asked as KID once again began to pull him through the alleys.

“Here!” the thief exclaimed pulling his soulmate out between the buildings and into a small park. The street lamps were glowing a dull yellow giving the place an eerie feeling. Still being pulled along by the phantom thief, Shinichi had no time to ponder the atmosphere. “Jii-chan! We're all clear!” KID called, his voice echoing across the silent expanse of land. A man slowly emerged from behind a cluster of trees and walked to meet them on the park’s pathway. Shinichi quickly observed what he could make out of the man in the low light.

He was an older man, perhaps around the same age as Agasa. He was balding badly on the top of his head, yet he still had hair almost meeting his shoulders. He saw the glint of glasses, but his clothes were black like KID’s.

“Bocchama, are you sure it's alright to have him here?” The man spoke tentatively, and Shinichi was surprised at how formally he addressed KID. “I know we formed an alliance, but using my name, and bringing him to the rendezvous point…” the man trailed off, and Shinichi could feel the man’s, Jii’s, eyes glued to him.

“Do you remember that argument we had a while ago?” KID said softly, almost like he was ashamed to be bringing it up. Jii seemed startled at the topic, he was.

He had only had one real argument with his precious young master, when Jii brought up soulmarks. He had been telling Kaito how his father always referred to his soulmark as his lucky charm and would place his hand over it before a heist. Kaito had blown up at him then, yelling at Jii about how his father was ridiculous for putting so much faith in something so meaningless. They never resolved that argument, and Aoko had later told Jii how much disdain Kaito held for soulmarks and soulmates. The fact his young master would bring this up now could only mean…

Jii suddenly ran toward the couple and threw his arms around the pair. “I'm so happy for you Bocchama!” KID laughed while Shinichi was startled by the man’s sudden change in mood. “Did this just happen? I can't believe it! I'm the first to know!” Jii’s voice was a mix of delight and the tell-tale waiver of crying.

“Geez, Jii-chan, I'm glad you're happy for us, but I think tantei...Shinichi would appreciate a little space.” Shinichi felt his face heat up, KID had never used his name before, and it shouldn't have been as endearing as it was, but he couldn't help himself, his soulmate was to perfect. “Also, I'd like to get home and breathe a little, I did just fall off a building.” KID chuckled. “And...If you don't have anything else to do…, I'd like you to come with me, Shinichi.” To flustered to speak, the detective just nodded in return.

Suddenly, Shinichi’s phone rang. Slightly amazed it survived the fall, he pulled it out and answered. “Kudo-san!? Are you okay!? We heard you fell off of the building.” Hakuba sounded panicked.

“Oh, yeah, I'm okay, it wasn't that big deal, KID caught me.”

“He caught you? They captured the gunman,  and he said he had shot KID’s glider.”

“Well...He must have thought he did. Anyway, I'm alive, and KID got away, so I'm going to head home, I did just fall off of a building afterall.”  Shinichi quickly hung up before Hakuba could ask him anymore questions, the man was smart, he would realize some contradictions between what the gunman said and what Shinichi had just relayed.

“So,” KID began, catching Shinichi’s attention, “shall we go?” A smile stretched across Shinichi’s face as he nodded in agreement.

~~♤♡♤~~

Shinichi shouldn't have been surprised as he was when they arrived at a normal home somewhere in Ekoda. Kaitou KID a normal person, well as normal as he could be, under the top hat, a fact Shinichi knew perfectly well, but seeing the house startled him a little.

“Well, Tantei-kun?” KID, his black hat still pulled low over his face, questioned as he held open the gate to the front yard. Shinichi shook off his shock and quietly followed KID inside.

The house was, well, homey. It was furnished like a regular home, several picture frames hung from the walls, and it just made sense to Shinichi that this was the place KID grew up.

“So...uh…” Shinichi's wandering eye was brought back to KID, and he was startled to realize the thief had removed his hat and was standing, facing away from him, a mess of brown hair on top of his head, and a hint of red on the tips of his ears. “I've never really… unmasked myself like this.” KID’s voice wavered, nervous energy and anxiety prevalent in it. Shinichi’s heart was racing as well, but more than eager to unmask the elusive phantom thief, he was overjoyed to learn the identity of his soulmate.

“KID... I've liked you for a really long time, longer than you could think, and I promise I won't tell anyone, I swear it on my life.” He heard KID take a sharp breath and slowly, almost painstakingly so, turn to face Shinichi. It was the detective’s turn to be breath taken.

The man who stood before him was his age, the jaw line masculine, but not one sharpens with age. His hair was brown, not unsimilar to Shinichi’s, but his eyes were what really stole the detective’s breath. He had always caught a glimpse of the man's eyes, but the shadow of the hat and the monocle never allowed him to have a clear view. Now, all was for him to witness. The color was a startlingly indigo, seemingly purple in the light, yet the color was not what fascinated Shinichi. Although KID’s face was perfectly emotionless, Shinichi could see many things swimming in the other’s eyes. Fear, anxiousness, and hope were as clear as day.

“Shinichi?” KID mumbled quietly.

“We look amazingly similar.” KID burst out laughing as Shinichi realized how vain that sounded. The first thing he says to his soulmate, face to face, was about how much they looked like each other.

“So… do you want to, like, talk this thing through?” Although Shinichi’s comment lightened the other’s mood, the anxiety and fear crept back onto his face.

“Of course.” Shinichi replied gently, smiling softly at his soulmate. ‘ _God, he's my soulmate.’_ Even the thought of being eternally bound to this man made Shinichi's heart soar.


	16. Small Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have some things they need to talk about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to update sooner, but Spring Break was pretty busy and Persona 5 has officially ruined my life. I'm really glad you guys aren't to angry about my April Fools joke, I had "The Moment" written before the second chapter was, and I really wanted it to be on the 1st. I really can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your support, so I hope you'll continue to do so! Please enjoy ^^

It was strange, Kaito thought, to have a detective sitting in his living room, privy to his identity, but not even a spark of lawful action in his eyes. Even weirder, Kaito mused, was the idea that the detective sitting before him was his  _ soulmate _ . Perhaps it was fate pulling at his heart strings or the fact he had unknowingly had this feeling all along, but Kaito’s heart had to be beating at an unnatural rate.

“So, where do we begin?” Kaito asked softly, still unsure of his position with the detective and his whole feeling on even  _ having  _ a soulmate after cursing the word for so long.

“Well,” Shinichi began, “I already know you know quite a bit about me, Mr. Great-Thief, but if you're comfortable with it, I'd like to know your name.” Kaito blushed, he was an idiot, ‘ _ Show him your face Kaito, it will be fine, oh, but neglect to mention you're own  _ **_name_ ** _.’ _

“It’s… It's Kaito.” Shinichi’s face morphed into one of confusion. Kaito stared into his eyes, trying as desperately as he could to convey that he was telling the truth. “My name name is Kuroba Kaito.”

“Seriously?” Kaito nodded in confirmation and Shinichi breathed out a sigh. “I know both of your parents were thieves, but, wow, it's a pretty bad joke.” Shinichi sounded exasperated, but he was smirking despite himself, Kaito himself laughed at the detective’s revelation.

“Yeah, they had a pretty awful sense of humor.” Shinichi let out a small laugh.

“If you think that, wait to you hear about my parents.”

~~♡♤♡~~

They had talked for hours, exchanging anecdotes about their parents before the conversation became more serious. Kaito told Shinichi about his father’s death and his discovery of his father's night job. He told the detective about Pandora, a magic doublet gem which could grant immortality which was being pursued by the Black Organization. In turn, Shinichi told Kaito about the accident in Tropical Land and the apoptoxin. Kaito listened intently as the detective wove a story about shrinking into a six year old and all of the trouble and mysteries he had to solve without revealing his true identity. Neither doubted the other, neither spoke while the other laid their individual burden before the other. It was as if they completely understood what each other needed in that moment.

“Shinichi?” Kaito questioned after a lap of silence following the end of Shinichi’s tale. Shinichi hummed in acknowledgement. “I think it's pretty safe to say our soulmarks reacted when we confirmed our… feelings for one another, so, what I want to know, is, um, when did you fall in love with me? You only knew me as a thief and it seems unlikely a detective would want to be involved with a criminal.” Kaito could feel his blush radiating heat off of his skin, it wouldn't surprise him if he was permanently flushed from now on.

“Well,” Shinichi mumbled, a ferocious blush coloring his face as well, “I don't know exactly how long I've liked you, but I only realized how I felt after our first meeting, when you asked Conan to help you take down the organization. Kaito looked stunned.

“That was months ago! You've liked me that long?”

“I always  _ liked  _ you. Even when I looked like I was six, you recognized my intellect, seeing what I could do without making assumptions based on my perceived age. It was invigorating to know I could be myself while matching wits with someone.” Shinichi hadn't looked at his soulmate while he had been recounting his take on love, but he looked up abruptly when he heard the other laugh.

“I wouldn't say we were matching wits, Meitantei, I always got away, didn't I.” A smirk was pulled across the thief's face and a teasing lilt colored his voice. Shinichi sighed, but a smile betrayed him.

“I think you’re forgetting those times I let you get away.”

“I think you’re neglecting to realize that I wouldn’t actually need you’re help to get away.” They stared at each other intensely, without blinking, without speaking, until both erupted into laughter simultaneously.

“I’m really glad I get to be stuck with you.” Shinichi  sighed out joy coloring his tone. “I was always desperate to meet my soulmate, I never doubted my scar, not even a second.” Kaito’s gleeful laughter abruptly stopped. Curiously, Shinichi scanned his soulmates face, noting the pain and guilt leaking through his otherwise stone-faced expression. “Kaito? Did...Did I say something wrong?” The other boy sighed, a strained smile was pulled across his lips as he faced Shinichi.

“If we’re pouring our hearts out, I should be honest too, I hated my scar.” 

Shinichi was dumbstruck, how could the elusive, flirtatious thief hate his soulmark, a sign of your destined, a way to find your missing half. Kaito let out a small, sad sounding laugh, “Thanks for not getting angry at me for, you know, wishing you didn’t exist. But that is genuinely his I felt since, God knows how long.” He was facing toward Shinichi but he wouldn't meet the detective's gaze. Kaito let out a long, slow breath, a sad look in his eye while an even sadder smile played at his lips.

“It always felt like a burden. A chain tieing me to a person I hadn't even met, a person I had no reason to love. I think there was one specific reason though.” Kaito pulled his knees to his chest holding them there, Shinichi could see his knuckles turn white as he clung desperately to his pant legs. “My father always said his soulmark was his lucky charm, proof that he had someone by his side at all times. This, my mother found, was incredibly romantic, and I thought so too, I believed the fact my parents were bound together would keep them safe, and, well, you know how that turned out.” The words were said like it was supposed to be amusing, like it wasn't a painful memory, but Kaito’s face betrayed his tone, it was contorted with pain and his eyes held the tell-tale sign of tears. “It was a huge betrayal, the one thing that was to keep my father safe without fail, did. It made me think, ‘If the scars can't keep my father safe, why should I have any faith that they would make me happy.” Silence fell between them as Shinichi processed Kaito’s words. It made sense for him to develop an opposition to finding his soulmate, but one thing left Shinichi confused.

“If you hated you soulmark, if you never wanted to find your soulmate, why did you trust me with your identity like this?” Kaito stared at him for a moment, and the silence felt like sludge, pouring into Shinichi’s lung, making the air he took in thick and unsatisfying, until the thief  _ laughed _ . A real smile returned to his face, and like magic, the room was light again.

“Because,” Kaito began, still struggling through his laughter, “You're  _ you. The Great Detective of the East _ , the guy who will mercilessly make fun of me while we plan to take down an evil, gigantic organization, the guy who would nonchalantly accept the unnecessary magic tricks, the guy who jumped off of a building to  _ die with me _ . Not only that, but now that I know about your _ little _ predicament, I know that you will be stupidly reckless if it lets you save another person, that you will turn a blind eye to the law if it will lead you to the best possible result. You're so  _ good _ Shinichi, and… and I love you for that.” Needless to say, both boys were crimson by the time Kaito finished.

“But,” Shinichi sputtered, “But I'm your soulmate, the reason you like me-”

“The reason I like you,” Kaito interrupted, “Is because  _ you made me like you _ , I fell in love with you the same way I started crushing on my best friend, and she's not my soulmate.”

“Yeah, I'm the same way.” Shinichi let a soft smile creep onto his lips. Before either boy could say another word, an insistent ringing came from the door bell. A startled Kaito, who was very confused as to who would be coming to his house so late at night, stood to answer the door.

Opening said door, he was even more surprised to find Akako Koizumi, the witch herself, standing on the other side. “Akako? Wha-” the girl interrupted him before he could finish.

“Kuroba Kaito, what in the seven layers of  _ Hell _ did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not particularly active, but feel free to come bother me on my tumblr: that-one-shutin.tumblr.com


	17. A Witch and Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akako is not a very polite houseguest.

Both boys were uncomfortable, sitting next to one another on Kaito’s love seat while Akako Koizumi, who had briskly introduced herself to Shinichi before taking a seat, sat regally, by herself on the couch. She neglected to hide her scrutinizing gaze as she moved her eyes from one to the other, carefully studying their faces. Kaito was visibly struggling to hide his discomfort, the expression simultaneous with the struggle of finding something to break the heavy tension in the room. Fortunately, or possibly unfortunately, Akako broke the silence first.

“I was having a lovely evening at home, and then all of a sudden, I nearly kneel over because someone used an incredible amount of magic.” The boys stared at her like she was speaking in a different language, but the witch just continued on. “Terrified, I immediately started looking for the source of this near catastrophe, and while I was vigilantly following the trace amounts of magic, I was led to your front door.”

“Wait,” Kaito finally seemed to find the words he had lost at the woman’s appearance, “You’re telling me you followed magic to my house? I believe you, but ho-.” Kaito cut himself off and flushed a deep red.

“I still don’t understand.” Shinichi picked up, catching Akako’s attention, “How were you able to follow magic, and I’m not convinced about this whole magic thing.”

“Soulmarks, Kudo Shinichi-san, soulmarks.” Shinichi looked dumbstruck, turned to look at Kaito’s still beet red face, and began to mimic his soulmate’s color, “I assume this makes sense to you, and now I know why I find the two of you here.” She looked between the two of them and sighed deeply. “All right, so you two obviously have a strong connection, peril usually elicits a strong reaction, and I know for a fact there was a KID heist tonight.”

“I’m not KID.” The response was a reflex for Kaito, he hadn’t even realized he had said it until Akako replied.

“That’s not the point right now, Kuroba. Anyway, I guess I’ll just have to be the good samaritan and be responsible for you two.” Another sigh escaped the woman, “Now I have to look after two pairs of soulmates, fantastic, at least Nakamori and Hakuba won’t be as huge of a problem.”

“Wait,” Shinichi recollected himself enough to speak up, “what do you mean ‘take responsibility’? We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.”

“I don't have the time to explain that right now, but I do need the two of you to do something for me.”

“Fine, what do you need Akako?” Kaito let out a sigh with the words, sure the woman would need something ridiculous from the the two of them. The witch always had crazy ideas.

“Strip.”

“WHAT!” Both boys shouted simultaneously. Their embarrassment had just settled, but it now returned in full force. “There is absolutely I’m stripping in front of a stranger.” Shinichi said, at a much lower volume than before, quite defiantly.

“There is no way I’m stripping for a witch!” Kaito neglected to lower his volume, which only seemed to agitate Akako.

“It’s because I’m a witch that you need to strip, to let me examine your soulmarks.” Her tone was stern and commanding, but agitation was evident within it.

“Wait, you’re actually a witch?” Shinichi interrupted their bickering, “I just thought Kaito was being rude.”

“No,” Akako leaned back into the couch, crossing her arms, “I am quite literally a witch, I am able to use magic, and a large source of our power comes from the bonds we create with soulmate pairs. Therefore, in order to most efficiently help you with this whole situation,” she gestured in the air with a slightly annoyed look on her face, “I need to analyze your soulmarks.”

“I guess I sort of understand where you're coming from,” Kaito watched as Shinichi donned his ‘deduction face’, “it makes logical sense that there would be some people who are more connected to whatever power soulmarks hold, but, I mean,” Shinichi turned his face away from the two of them, “I haven’t even seen it for myself yet, and it’s pretty personal.”

“I understand.” Kaito looked dumbstruck at Akako, who held a gentle smile on her lips, a real smile, it reached her eyes and made her look far more approachable, at least, to Kaito.”Soulmarks are the one thing I understand the best, we are taught from a young age just how crucial and special each one is, so if you would like sometime to look at it yourself, I completely understand; however, the sooner I analyze them the better.”

“Thank you Koizumi-san.” A relieved and grateful smile pulled across Shinichi’s lips. “Kaito,” he turned his head, almost shyly toward his soulmate, “can we go somewhere private?”

~~♡♤♡~~

Kaito led Shinichi up into his bedroom, incredibly embarrassed the entire time, after promising Akako that it would be at most a half hour. Gently closing the door behind him, Kaito sat on his floor across from Shinichi, who was equally as embarrassed. “So,” he started hoping the ever present embarrassment would fade, “Do you want to see it first? You've been waiting for this for your whole life, so it only seems fair.”

“Are you sure? I know that it's uncomfortable to show off.” Kaito shook his head, a gentle smile on his lips. Shinichi was too considerate.

“I'm sure, if it's you it doesn't bother me.” Before either of them could say anything more embarrassing, Kaito quickly pulled his shirt over his head and turned to face away from Shinichi. 

He heard the other take in a sharp breath, he had no idea what Shinichi could be seeing, and this was far more embarrassing than he had hoped. There was another emotion picking at the back of his brain. He felt ashamed. The day Kaito’s scar changed he had stormed out of Aoko’s house after she gave a similar reaction.

“Kaito,” Shinichi breathed, the sound of his name bringing a new blush to Kaito’s face, “This is what you gave me?” The next moment, Shinichi’s arms were around the magician. They were tight and comforting, though the fact Kaito was shirtless was embarrassing. He floundered for something to say for a few minutes before Shinichi spoke back up, “You should really see this.” Shinichi released Kaito, who turned around to see Shinichi’s back, the full soulmark impossible to miss. Kaito was speechless, this is what Shinichi had given him? What had he done to do deserve something so magnificent? After a couple minutes of silence, Shinichi turned back around to find tears welling in Kaito’s eyes.

“I’m so glad it's you.” Shinichi nodded feverently in agreement. This was far more overwhelming than both had anticipated, both had tears now, but neither had them from sadness or regret. They knew what they were feeling was the same, the overwhelming joy from being in the presence of your soulmate, from witnessing the mark which confirmed the bond between them, and it could not be anymore wonderful.

~~♡♤♡~~

“Finally,” Akako remarked as she watched the pair of soulmates re-enter the living room, “I was afraid I would have to go up there and make sure the two of you weren't drowning in tears.” The boys avoided eye contact with the witch, which was enough for her to confirm it had, in fact, been a tearful event. “Now, where are your soulmarks located, both of you are still shirtless, so I assume it must be on your backs.” Akako haughtily returned to her place on the couch, sitting like a member of royalty, the pair of soulmates in front her, fidgeting nervously, before simultaneously turning so the witch could see their soulmarks.

“OH MY GOD!” Akako was back on her feet, flitting between the pair, examining the mark intensely. “This is the largest soulmark I have even seen. That release of magic should have been… That’s it, my decision has been made. We’re having soulmark bootcamp.”

“Wait, what?” Kaito turned back around to face the girl smiling eerily at him. “I don't think I need you to tell me how to live with a soulmark.”   
“Oh no Kuroba, it's so much more than that. Kudo, give this to that Mouri girl you live with, I’ll give the invitations to Nakamori and Hakuba. Boys, I'm taking you to the beach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus, my plan for an obligatory beach episode is set.


	18. Red Week and the Wings you Seek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Better known as "The Obligatory Beach Episode: Part One"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Shows up almost three months late to my own fic with Starbucks* "Sup"

Ran was incredibly confused. Not only had Shinichi returned unreasonably late at night, she had stayed up waiting for him, but he had handed her an invitation from a girl named Koizumi Akako inviting her to her beach home. When she questioned Shinichi about it, he only responded with, “I, honest to God, have absolutely no idea.” It wasn't like Shinichi to go along with things he was uncertain about, and it was even more so after whatever case had kept him from Beika for so long. After days of trying to pry what little information she knew her best friend had to have about the situation, she finally gave up until she could actually speak to Koizumi Akako and receive a definite answer about the whole thing.

Fortunately, Ran didn’t have to wait long for her opportunity to arrive, unfortunately, she was only able to ask because she was already at at the beach. Shinichi had reminded her the night before they were supposed to leave, only about a week after she had received the invitation, but she had completely neglected the date in her confusion. She was able to pack quickly, and the next morning they left early for the train after a quick goodbye to Kogoro. Ran dozed in and out on the train, leaving her unaware of her location or how much longer the trip would take, but Shinichi would answer and eventually woke her up to disembark at their stop. Leaving the train station, it took another twenty minutes to even reach the gates of the house they were to be station. “Shinichi, you did say we’d be staying at this person’s beach _house_ , right?”

“That’s what I thought we’d be doing…” Shinichi’s sentence trailed off, a clear sign he was wandering into his thoughts. Ran didn't blame him, Shinichi had told her what he was told, so she understood was he was confused as well. The house wasn’t massive, per se, but it most certainly wasn’t a _house_. The Kudo estate was a western style house, one could even call it a mansion, but it certainly wasn’t as gaudy as the one in front of the pair of friends. The entire property, besides being completely isolated with no other houses within a five mile radius, was pushed back a ways from the road, closer to where the coastline was sure to be, and was completely fenced in with a colossal gate centered with the front of the house. The house itself, from what the pair could see, was a spanish style home with large columns and a tiled roof. There was a courtyard, complete with a large fountain, surrounded by two wings of the house on either side, the larger, two story portion closing in the far side, giving the whole place a “luxury hotel/rental home” feel.

Shinichi and Ran had stood dumbstruck outside the house for more than ten minutes before they had shook themselves out of their stupor and actually rang the buzzer on the gate. Instead of someone actually greeting them through the intercom, which they had expected, they were both startled when a hunched backed man greeted them, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. “You are here due to Akako-sama’s wishes, correct? May I see your invitations?” His voice was like a stereotypical “Igor” character, his features even complimented the idea, and Shinichi couldn’t help but that it  was a requirement for a witch to have such a servant. They quickly showed the man their invitations and were allowed inside. The man showed them to the house, gushing about how happy he was that his mistress had allowed people to the private beach home, and explaining that they property had a large stretch of private beach for them to enjoy for a week. Ran listened to this politely, while Shinichi’s thoughts wandered, observing the elaborate courtyard with it’s stone walkways and exotic flowers, and then the interior of the house, decorated in the style of the house, with a few pieces of artwork, so Shinichi concluded that the house was entirely out of place in Japan, his family was wealthy, but at least they had the sense to try to be modest with their house.

The servant had opened a large wood door to a sitting room, inviting the two inside and offering to bring their luggage to their rooms. They agreed and made their way into the living room. The far side of the room was open, allowing them to see out to the large patio and pool in the backyard, along with a stunning view of the ocean. They did not get to admire the view for long, however, because all of the other guests were present, seated on a couple couches and chairs in the room. Ran was the more social of the pair of them, but while Shinichi immediately took a seat beside a boy she hadn’t met before, she remained standing, trying to get her first impressions of the people present. She knew Hakuba Saguru, a small comfort, but also an annoyance at the idea of two Holmes fans in the same room. She vaguely recalled the girl sitting next to him on the couch, Nakamori-keibu’s daughter, Aoko, whom she was introduced to once at a KID heist. On the couch opposite was a boy whom Ran was sure she had never met before, yet Shinichi had sat next to him with complete ease, even giving him a smile in acknowledgement. The boy seemed to be their age, and easy assumption with the other people present, with messy hair and indigo colored eyes, the strangest thing about him was how similar he looked to Shinichi. Ran decided to ignore the fact as she rested her gaze on the young woman sitting in the chair which directly faced the door. She had a regal look about her, with smooth black hair and piercing red eyes, she held herself with confidence, and Ran found it safe to assume that this was the Koizumi Akako which had invited them to her home.

“It looks like our final guests have arrived. I hope it wasn’t to difficult to find the house?” Akako addressed the new guests.

“I know I would have gotten lost if we hadn’t come here as a group!” Aoko joked, the laughter in her sentence eased Ran’s unease a bit as she sat down.

“We didn’t have too much trouble, although we were quite stunned at how lavish your home is,” Ran replied with a polite smile.

“I’m glad,” Akako responded with a smile of her own, a bit more chilling than Ran’s, “Now that we’re all here, we should introduce ourselves, though I believe most of us know one another. As you all know, I am your host for the week, Koizumi Akako, and please take me at my word when I say I am thrilled to have so many of you here,” the boy sitting next to Shinichi scoffed, but Akako ignored it, “and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Mouri-san.”

“Oh no! The pleasure is mine, Koizumi-san!” Ran hurriedly replied, “I’ll go next, I’m Mouri Ran, and it is a pleasure to make and remake everyone’s acquaintance.” She bowed her head slightly.

“I’m Nakamori Aoko, and I look forward to spending a week with you all!”

“I’m Hakuba Saguru, and I have to agree with Aoko-chan.”

“Ah, gross Hakuba! When did you start calling her by her first name!”  The boy next to Shinichi made a very exaggerated face, disgust and horror on a comical scale spread across his features, Shinichi stifled a laugh next to him.

“We’re soulmates, Kuroba, it’s only natural to be familiar with one another.” Hakuba sighed, less like he was offended by the boy, Kuroba’s, actions, but more like he was tired of them, ‘ _he must act like this a lot_ ,’ Ran thought.

“You’ve been soulmates for about a month Hakuba, don’t you think you’re moving too fast?” Kuroba smirked.”

“Oh, congratulations!” Ran smiled at the couple, “It’s so wonderful to find our soulmates at this age, I wish the best for both of you!” Ran smiled warmly at them, soulmates always warmed her heart, especially when the couple recently completed the mark, it was like they gave off a glow that radiated love and happiness.

“Allow me to congratulate you two as well,” Shinichi spoke up, “Let me reintroduce myself as well, I’m Kudo Shinichi-”

“The Great Detective of the East, Heisei Holmes, the Savior of the police force, whatever you wish to address me as.” It took Ran a moment to realise Kuroba had spoken instead of Shinichi, his inflection was the exact same as her best friend. When she realized who had actually spoken, she broke out into a laugh.

“How did you know that’s how he always introduces himself,” she giggled out, “It was like I was hearing him introduce himself to whoever he could back before he left on that case!”

“Ran! I did not introduce myself like that!” Shinichi was blushing furiously glaring between herself and Kuroba, who had stood and walked over to where Ran was sitting.

“Saving the best for last,” everyone in the room seemed to groan simultaneously, “I’m Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire!” A pick rose was produced from thin air as the magician took a bow, “I am incredibly honored to make your acquaintance Mouri-chan.”

“Thank you, Kuroba-san.” Ran smiled at the magician as she took the flower from him.

“Now that Kuroba’s little show is over,” Akako began, irritation at Kuroba, who retook his seat next to Shinichi, evident in her voice, “I would like to welcome you all to Red Week!” She spoke with a flourish, like she expected everyone to break into applause; however, her guests looked around a little dumbfounded as to what their host was talking about. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you all don’t know what Red Week is, it has become a rare practice in modern times.” Akako sighed, looking over her guests, a look of pity in her eyes. “I, your sponsor, have invited you all to a week of grand luxury to commemorate your recent completion of your soulmarks.” Akako smiled, it was much warmer than her first one she had given Ran when they had arrived, “Truly, congratulations, it is a wonderful feat, especially with the strength of your bonds.”

“Oh!” Nakamori exclaimed, “You should have said you and Kudo-san were recently completed Morui-san! That’s wonderful!”

“Yes, like Kudo-kun said, it is remarkable to find your soulmark at our age.”

“Oh no, you misunderstand, Hakuba-kun,” responded, Ran was too dumbstruck to reply herself, she hadn’t found her soulmate, which means that, “Kudo-kun and Kuroba completed their soulmark just the other week, they are our other couple.”

A loud “WHAT!” reverberated throughout the room as the unaware parties turned their gaze to the blushing couple on the couch, both averting any kind of eye contact with anyone.

“Kaito, you found your soulmate!? You’re sitting next to your _soulmate_ !? You are joking and enjoying the company of your _SOULMATE_ !?” Aoko broke into hysteric laughter, “I knew it! I told you that it would be different once you met your soulmate! I mean, it’s your _soulmate,_ Katio.” The girl flung herself at her best friend, ending in a very awkward hug, as Kaito was still sitting down, but the other accepted the unexpected affection anyway. “I know why you were so afraid, Kaito, but you should have had more faith in the world.”

“You’re right,” Kaito replied, his voice soft as he wrapped his arms a little tighter around his best friend, “I should have had more faith that my soulmate was someone I could love.”

“I always knew,” Aoko pulled away from Kaito slightly in order to look him in the eyes, I was just worried that your soulmate wouldn’t be able to put with your unbearable antics.” She said it seriously, but there was mirth in her eyes, Kaito only gave her a glare back only to end with the two of them laughing. It felt like a weight had been lifted from Aoko’s shoulders, not only had her best friend found his soulmate, sat willinging next to his soulmate, but after looking in his eyes, and bearing witness to his chains once again, it was like she could breath. No longer were his chains black and sickly, with too many locks to count, but they were a bright silver, with one or two small locks keeping them in place. Kaito’s heart must have been relieved once he found his soulmate, but whatever burden he had must have been lightened with the completion of his soulmark. Her best friend had someone, other than herself, whom he could depend on and, as much as it pained her, to help with problems that he would never tell Aoko. “So!” She shook herself out of those slightly depressing thoughts and sprung back up, standing in front of the new couple with her hands planted firmly on her hips, “How absolutely amazing is your soulmark, I know how breath taking yours was without being complete, so tell me, what is it, really?” She looked questioningly between the two of them as they exchanged embarrassed glances between them.

“Oh, I’m sure you all will see it soon enough, we are on a beach after all, and this whole week is about celebrating your soulmarks.” Akako grabbed everyone's attention as she stood from her chair and smoothed out her skirt. “However, for now I think everyone should get settled in their rooms while dinner is made, you’ll be notified when it is ready to be served. The boys will be staying in the east corridor while the girls will be on the west. Everyone’s luggage should have been placed outside of their individual doors.” At this sudden wealth of information, everyone was a bit dumbstruck, they were only staying at an acquaintance's house, not a luxury resort. Akako seemed to be completely set on spoiling her guests rotten, despite her past… squabbles with some of them.

The guests and hostess made their way to their rooms, each person with a different door with all of their luggage designating which room would theirs for the week, just as Akako had said they would be. The boys didn’t make much conversation as they walked through the east corridor, their  luggage placed at the last rooms on the hall, but Hakuba did occasionally glance at the other two boys with confusion and speculation, no doubt thinking about how he could conclude through their bond how Kaito is KID. Shinichi reached his luggage, checked to be sure it was the right suitcase, and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the busy week that was sure to come, and opened the door. By some trick of fate, Shinichi wouldn’t have been surprised if that was actually the case, everybody else seemed to decide to open their doors as well, resulting in the sound of party poppers heard throughout the house and waves of confetti to rain down upon everyone and anyone who just opened their doors. The house went still for a split second before a resounding mix of ‘Kuroba’ and ‘Kaito’ and some maniacal cackling from the perpetrator.

~~♡♤♡~~

The rest of the first evening passed without incident, everyone was treated to a first-class meal and made pleasant conversation, however, everyone seemed to come to an agreement that nothing Kaito said should be acknowledged, though Shinichi and Ran broke the non-verbal  agreement once by laughing when Kaito started to poke fun at Hakuba by saying ridiculous things in the poor man’s voice.

Everyone was woken up painfully early the next morning by an Akako who looked far to pleased at waking her guests at such an ungodly hour. “Akako, I thought this was supposed to be a vacation.” Kaito stretched out the last syllable, trying to convey just how upset he was that he had to wake up before the sun.

“I never said it was a vacation, Kuroba. I do believe I told you that you would be attending Soulmark Bootcamp, and bootcamps start early.” Kaito only groaned in response, trailing behind Akako, along with the other boys, as she guided them through the sitting room and out onto the back lawn where a table was set for breakfast. The girls were already sitted, looking tired around the table. The complaining stopped once everyone tasted the food, it was unnaturally good, and being able to watch the sunrise over the ocean was also a nice touch.

“Now then, since you all have been placated, it’s time to start our training for the day.”

“Wait, training?” Aoko said, her head snapping up from where it was previously glued to her plate, “I thought Red Week was about celebrating us, and what would we even train for?”

“Why, we’re training your relationship of course. The stronger the bond between you and your soulmate, the more power your soulmarks posses. So first, we’ll start off with something simple, something like…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, but from the smirk on her face it was clear she already had decided the day’s itinerary. “Oh, I know!” The pleasantness in her voice sent a chill down everyone’s spine, “How about we start with trust falls!”

~~♡♤♡~~

“THIS IS NOT HOW TRUST FALLS WORK AKAKO!” Kaito yelled. He and Aoko were currently standing on top of a retainment wall about fifteen feet above where the others were standing on the beach. Kaito knew he would be fine, he could scale down a wall like this easily, he was a master magician after all, however, Aoko would have more difficulty. “If we’re going to do this, then I’m going first, Aoko is far more delicate than I am, and I need to make sure she’ll be able to be caught correctly.”

“No can do Kuroba, both of you need to fall at the same time, otherwise the other pair will be distracted, now stand on the other edge and face the other way,” Akako yelled back up, “You don’t need to worry about falling if you have faith in your soulmate.”

“I have faith in my soulmate,” Kaito replied, a little bitterness in his tone, “I don’t have faith in Aoko’s soulmate’s weak little arms!”

“I’ll have you know that I have had plenty of strength training!” Hakuba snapped, making Kaito feel a little glad he was standing fifteen feet above the man.

“Enough of the complaining!” Akako sighed, “I promise that no one is in danger, so just fall of of the wall, you two.” Aoko was visibly nervous, who would be keen to fall backwards off of a wall, even if your true love was standing at the bottom of the wall to catch you, but despite her fear, she turned away from the edge and faced toward the house.

“I trust Saguru to catch me,” she said softly, just loud enough for Kaito to hear, “just like I trust Kudo-kun to catch you.” She gave a small smile to her best friend, her fear twisting her smile ever so slightly. “So what do you say Kaito? Want to fall off of this wall together?” Kaito smiled in return.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“On the count of three!” Akako informed them.

And on the count of three, they both fell off the wall. Kaito was used to the sensation, but he usually had some kind of control, except for the last time he fell off of a building, when his soulmark was completed, when he realised he was in love with Shinichi. The was the instinctual fear of falling, of dying, present in his decent, but he knew Shinichi was there, and soon, when Kaito felt himself being caught and he opened his eyes _‘When did I close them?’_ he once again looked into the face of Kudo Shinichi, his soulmate. “We have to stop meeting like this,” Kaito joked, his voice only loud enough for his soulmate to hear, he didn’t want any nosy questions from certain nosy people.

“I suppose, but it’s more fun this way,” Shinichi joked back.

“I would prefer to not fall off of buildings, if you don’t mind.” Shinichi laughed as he helped Kaito back into a standing position. The other pair was doing the same, Aoko a bit more shaky standing back up.

“See,” Akako said, “There was absolutely no worry. Now, onto the next activity!” Everyone groaned in return.

“They won’t have to fall off of anything else, or anything as dangerous, will they?” Ran asked, concern in her tone, not only for her best friend, but also for her recent acquaintances, no one ever said that Ran wasn’t a kind creature.

“Of course not, Mouri-san~” Akako’s lilting tone was as foreboding as ever. “This time they are going to fight one another!”

~~♡♤♡~~

What Akako had failed to explain was the fact that what they were actually doing was going to the beach and having a chicken fight in the ocean. She sent everyone back to the house to change into their swimsuits and return to the beach. After hearing a proper explanation, everyone became far more compliant to their hostess’s request. Everyone swiftly returned to the beach, Shinichi and Kaito lagging behind the others, the years of hiding their scar embedding a habit within them. Neither had ever been comfortable with things like going to the beach or a pool, most of the other boys they went with, because they would never volunteer to go and their parents knew better than to put them up to it, never wore a tee shirt while they swam, no one else had a scar like theirs. Even now, Hakuba wasn’t wearing a shirt, he was just enjoying the sun without feeling overly conscious of himself. He probably expected Kaito and Shinichi to be the same, the confused look on his face was evident of this fact. He was about to say something, probably to clear up his confusion, but Aoko stopped him, placing her hand on his arm and shaking her head. Aoko looked to Ran, who gave her a smile, one that meant, ‘Yeah, it’s always been like this too.’

The boys surprised them, however, instead of stopping where they had set up a table along with chairs for their things, the soulmates walked past them, without sparing a glance, if they had, the others might have seen the nervousness, and if the others had looked toward Akako, they would have seen a smile, a sincere smile, revealing how proud she was of the boys, of what they were about to do, about to overcome. The pair stopped, facing the ocean, gave each other an encouraging smile, and discarded their shirts. No longer did they have to be afraid of how other people would perceive them, how they would stare at their scar, how they would feel pity for them. The others didn’t, they were slackjawed, even Aoko, who knew what Kaito’s soulmark had been, couldn’t have been prepared for what she saw, what they all saw. The soulmates standing with their backs to the rest of them were hand in hand, the grip tight, trying to encourage the other and find comfort in the other at the same time. The focus of the image, however, were the boys’ backs. Smooth black lines cascaded down them, gentle curves that made a cutting contrast with the rest of their skin. In between those smooth lines was color, vivid, and warm, like a waterfall trailing over their shoulder blades and spine. A brilliant, pigmented white, like perfect, fluffy clouds, graced their shoulders, where the black lines softened and created the smallest feathers. Slowly, the color transitioned into a warm yellow, the kind one would think of when someone would speak of soft sunlight. As the feathers became longer, the yellow grew into a brilliant orange, not the orange one would see on a child’s rainbow, but the kind of orange one would see at sunrise, a color that lets you know that a new day is coming. The longest feathers held a striking red, a red like those on roses, a red that sets the sun on fire, a hue that cannot be ignored, a hue that demands to not be ignored, and at the end of this waterfall, at the tips of the feathers playing along their backs, was a deep crimson. Like the last traces of the bleeding sun, a deep color that, although declares that the day has ended, calms you, and lets you know that a new day is on its way. It was a soulmark like none had ever seen. A beautiful harmony of two different people, a perfect melding of both where a person couldn’t tell who started with what, and all that mattered was that both were here now, together, hand in hand, and never letting go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all honesty guys, I'm so sorry this took so long. The end of the school year came and punched me in the face, and then I went on vacation with my family, and then writer's block put me into a coma. I never meant for you to wait this long, and in order to provide you all with some sort of content so you know I'm alive, I have split this chapter into several parts. Thank you all for your patience, and if you want to come and yell at me some more, I have a tumblr! http://that-one-shutin.tumblr.com feel free to come and yell at me.


	19. A Mark's Meaning and Pandora's Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red week continues and Akako is full of useful information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look who posted before another month has passed hahahaha(: School starts back up the third (tomorrow) so who knows how it will affect my schedule, I'll try not to go a month without updating. This chapter should be fun though!

The chicken fight ended rather quickly, and was a far less memorable experience then everyone simultaneously gawking and admiring the boys’ soulmark. Kaito and Shinichi were overwhelmed by their friends’ response, and it was the first time they felt incredibly proud of what was once a marred and scarred piece of skin. Kaito swore to Shinichi that he let Aoko and Hakuba win on purpose, but the magician’s blush just barely covering the tips of his ears told him otherwise.

They had all sat down to enjoy lunch and began to eat the heavenly meal when Akako spoke up from her seat at the head of the table, “Now that the morning’s festivities have been completed, we’re going to work on a more one on one level. Today we will focus on Nakamori-chan and Hakuba-kun, they have surely experienced the passive effects of their soulmark at this point. The absence of eye contact makes it far too obvious.” Her gaze fell upon the couple in question, a knowing smirk playing across her lips. The pair stared back at her with a shocked expression, while the others regarded her with confusion. “Perhaps I should explain, every soulmark holds some kind of power based on what the mark represents. The way the power manifests itself is based on three different factors, the strength of the connection between the two, the visibility of the mark, and the intensity of the situation. For example, if a couple has just confessed to one another, and their soulmark is, say, an incredibly large pair of wings,” she quickly shot the other pair of  soulmates a look, “and they had just fallen off of a building, then it is highly likely the powerful emotions would manifest their mark into a literal pair of wings to save them from death.” Everyone quickly turned to look at the winged pair in horror.

“I would like to clarify, we did not fall off of a building to almost certain doom and confess our feelings, that is absolutely ridiculous and we’re not dumb enough to fall off of a building.” Kaito quickly took the initiative and calmed everyone’s nerves. Shinichi, meanwhile, buried his face in his hands, embarrassed about the situation, and incredibly thankful for Kaito’s poker face.

“Of course I didn’t mean the two of you,” Akako’s smirk told the boys that she really did mean the two of them and their reaction told her that it was exactly what happened, “but your soulmark is just far to unique to not think of how it could manifest. Now then, if the two of you don’t mind, could I examine your mark?” Aoko and Hakuba quickly agreed, and Akako made her way over to the two of them, first examining the pair’s napes, where their mark was located, then continuing to ask questions about which half the pair first held and, finally, if anything changed after the mark was completed. The two shifted uncomfortably before Aoko spoke up.

“After the KID heist the day we confessed to one another, several officers congratulated Saguru and I on our recent completion, and when we made eye contact with the officers, we saw thin silver chains weighing on them. Of course we were startled, but as we continued to talk to them, we realized we had steered the conversation almost subconsciously back toward the thief, and with some more subtle probing, they confided in us that they actually admired the thief a little. After the confessed to it, the chains unlocked, fell to the ground, and disappeared. We assumed it had something to do with our mark, so we didn’t press it. The next day, I bumped into you, Akako, on my way to meet Kaito for lunch, and you told me, ‘I must be good at unlocking people’s hearts’. You knew, didn’t you?” Aoko avoided eye contact with Kaito or Shinichi, they’re chains still far to daunting for her to acknowledge, but locked eyes with Akako. The witch smiled.

“I only had a feeling of what your passive could be, but it makes sense for the two of you. Your soulmark is practically a tell.” The witch looked off into the distance, a wistful smile on her face. “The two of you like helping people, and the way you think best to do it is to just expose the truth of the situation, to ‘unlock’ it, if you will. It’s an old fashioned notion, shown in the age of the key, and the two of you have different strengths within the field itself. Nakamori-chan is better at reaching the heart of the situation, as shown by her half holding a heart shape, and it is easier for her to ‘unlock’ people’s hearts, shown in her possession of the actual part of the key which opens the lock. Hakuba-kun hold of the base of the key, he has a firm grasp on how to reach the truth, but lacks the delicacy Nakamori-chan has, hence his ability to not coax, but force the truth out of people as a detective. Together, they have the ability to force the truth, yet it is more like they coax it out of someone; however, I don’t believe they can reveal large truths through this ability, only the ones you saw represented as ‘small chains’. I do have to ask, however, can the two of you see only these ‘small chains’ or are you able to see larger ones?” A hush fell over the table, a mixture of shock at Akako’s analysis and anticipation of the couple’s answer. After a few moments, Hakuba spoke.

“We can see heavier chains, the few criminal cases I’ve encountered since completing my mark have let me witness such chains, they were large, thick chains, colored red, though I don’t think I’ve seen any chains worse than Kuroba and Kudo’s.” Everyone’s attention once again fell upon  the other pair of soulmates, who looked horrified at the thought that their secrets were worse than a criminals.

“They were heavy and black, it was like a giant black snake was slowly crushing the both of you.” Aoko didn’t their eyes as she spoke. “That was why I avoided looking at you, Kaito, it looked like you were in so much pain, and whatever expression you were trying to show me when I told you about Saguru and I that day was just twisted with pain and… loneliness.” They was a beat of silence before she continued speaking, “But then, after you showed up with Kudo, they changed.” She looked at them now, a smile stretching across her lips, “ They are still large and heavy, but they are a silver now, not the grotesque black, they are still spots of rust and black, like the chains have been their for a long time, and I’m not expecting you to share whatever your burden is, but I’m glad you two have each other, you lighten the burdens on your shoulders, and that’s exactly what a soulmate is for!”

~~♡♤♡~~

After the groups revelations about the power of soulmarks, and Aoko and Hakuba’s power in general. Akako dismissed the others until dinner so she could work with the two on her own. There was an awkwardness in the group’s return to the house. Ran was silent, though the desire to come up with something to talk about was evident on her face. Shinichi had no desire to discuss anything with Ran after the whole discussion about their metaphorical chains. Kaito was just incredibly uncomfortable. The air was dense with the feeling, and as little as he knew about his soulmate’s best friend, he knew Ran wouldn’t pry if Shinichi really didn’t want her to. He decided he had to take the situation into his own hands, so he did the only thing he knew how to do in this kind of situation, “Lady and Gentleman! Now that we finally have some free time on our hands, I, Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire, would like to hold a private magic for your eyes only!” Ran giggled as Kaito placed himself in front of the pair in order to make a grand show of inviting them into the sitting room for his “private performance”.

“You know you don’t have to do this, right?” Shinichi questioned, though a smile was spread across his lips.

“I’m doing this because I want to, and I think all of us could use it after what just happened.”

“Alright then,” Shinichi replied, sitting on the couch, a smug look on his face, “fool me.”  


~~♡♤♡~~

Kaito did not, in fact, fool Shinichi, but he did lift everyone’s mood. He performed some of the simpler tricks he knew which were practically muscle memory, card tricks, simple disappearances and reappearances, reading minds, and after every trick he would look at Shinichi quizzically and was always met with a nod, he knew the trick. Everyone was in a much better mood after the show, however, and some of the tricks, like the one where he said he was going to make Shinichi disappear, but instead quick-changed him into an adorable pair of pajamas, got some laughs out of his audience. He took his bow and seated himself across from the pair of friends.

“So Kuroba-kun,” Ran started, a wide smile on her face, “how on Earth did you manage to convince Shinichi to sit down long enough to get to know you? Especially with how long he’s been gone on this case?” Kaito shifted a little in his seat, not quit sure how he should tell his soulmate’s best friend that they meet when Shinichi was stuck in the body of a six-year-old and that he was an internationally wanted jewel thief.

“It wasn’t that hard.” Shinichi spoke up instead, ”Kaito can create some insanely elaborate tricks, and he’s good at wordplay. It just so happened that while I was investigating this case, our paths crossed. After our first meeting, I was intrigued, and that just natural changed into something more romantic.” Ran stared wide-eyed at Shinichi, amazed at how honest and easily he spoke about Kaito.

“Shinichi,” a sly smile found it’s way onto Ran’s lips, “Are you trying to tell me that you fell in love first?” Shinichi’s blush was a perfect red. “Oh my God! You totally did!” Ran laughed heartily. “Even then, someone probably had to tell you that you were in love with him, didn’t they?” Shinichi avoided eye contact, but gave a shy nod, eliciting another laugh for Ran. Kaito was thoroughly embarrassed by all of this, a fantastic mixture of his own embarrassment hearing about Shinichi’s feelings for him and second-hand embarrassment for Shinichi. “So, did you confess first too?”

“That was me,” Kaito said, his voice soft with embarrassment, his own blush matching Shinichi’s. “I confessed first, I kind of did it as soon as I realised. It was exactly an elaborate confession, it was kind of like jumping off of a bridge without seeing how deep the water is first.” Shinichi snickered at the metaphor, an allusion to how he actually confessed clear within it.

“Man,” Ran giggled, “you guys are such dorks. More than that, however, Kudo Shinichi! How on Earth did you keep such a huge mark from me! We grew up together!”

“You see, but you do not observe.” Shinichi smirked, quite proud of himself. The other two just groaned.

~~♡♤♡~~

Dinner that evening had been intriguing. There was some leftover tension from earlier that day, but it was largely overshadowed by Aoko’s enthusiastic conversation about what Akako had told the pair about their soulmark. “I’m just glad that I don’t have to look at people funny whenever I look at them now, it would be awful when I have to interview for a job, but all I can see is my potentially employer in chains.”

“I think the truly useful thing is that we are able to use it when we want.” Hakuba countered, “Especially in the detective profession, though I don’t it would as simple as talking the truth out of a criminal.”

“Imagine if it was though,” Shinichi sighed “ Life would be so much simpler if I could just ask, ‘Hey, why did you kill this guy?’, though it sounds a little ridiculous out loud.” Hakuba and Shinichi laughed at the idea, the others unable to enjoy the detectives’ unique sense of humor.

“Anyway,” Aoko picked the conversation back up, “Akako-chan told us that if we tried hard enough, we could force the truth out of someone just by talking to them, which sounds pretty awful, but she said we needed enough emotion to do it, so it probably wouldn’t be just some random criminal.” Kaito felt  a chill run down his spine, Aoko hated Kaitou KID and Hakuba was just as fed up with his other persona, so if they both were ever able to corner him...He shuddered at the thought.

“Instead of forcing the truth out of criminals,” Ran leant back in her chair, looking thoughtful, “I think the ability would be far more helpful dealing with victims. They must be traumatised or in shock after witnessing or experiencing a crime, so being able to talk them into confessing without being so forceful would be therapeutic, I think.” Ran gave the table a bright smile, and Shinichi gave a little smile of his own, leave it to Ran to think of a way to help people, it was something she was made for.

“That’s brilliant Ran-chan!” Aoko beamed at her look alike, “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! That would be such a huge help in investigations, not to mention talking about such things would really help the people who had to experience them, right Saguru?” Hakuba nodded in agreement, though it looked like he was lost in thought at the same time, thinking of the different ways to use the ability.

“You’re very insightful Mouri-chan,” Akako gave her a smile, but her eyes seemed to say ‘I knew that too, but I wanted to test you.’, which was not a look Shinichi appreciated, though Ran didn’t seem to notice. “Well then, who's ready for dessert?”

~~♡♤♡~~

The next day began much like the previous. Akako woke them all to a wonderful breakfast, then had them spend the morning doing what she liked to call “Soulmate Bonding Exercises”, which, in reality, were just two person team building exercises and games. After lunch, she sent Ran, Aoko, and Hakuba back to the house to enjoy the rest of the day while keeping the winged pair in her company. That is where they are still seated now, across the table from a very smug looking witch.

“So, boys, how did you complete your soulmark?” The two in question exchanged worried glances, unsure of how much to disclose to the hostess. “I already know just how massive your confession was, I could feel it miles away you know. It was the single largest use of magic I have ever felt in my entire life, and,” she pointed a finger at Kaito, “this isn’t one of those times to go denying that you aren’t Kaitou KID, Kuroba, there was a heist that night at which Kudo Shinichi was present for the first time, and it was thought that there was an active shooter on the roof where KID would eventually escape too, and Kudo followed, leaving other task force members behind after the fire doors magnetically locked.” The boys stared back at her, speechless, at their silence, she sighed, “What I’m trying to say, is that whatever you decide to disclose to me will never leave my lips, think of it as a doctor-patient confidentiality agreement.” Shinichi shot a quick glance at Kaito.

“Everything you’ve said has been pretty spot on.” Kaito glanced at Shinichi in shock.

“Are you really comfortable with telling her this?” the magician said, his eyes showing question and concern.

“That’s what I want to know,” Shinichi replied, “because I can’t really tell this story unless you trust her with it.” Kaito sighed and relented, Akako had basically known the truth before this whole soulmate mess, and although she had tried to murder him before, she hadn’t told the others about how she came to his door in the middle of the night and confronted them. The witch listened to their accountants of their soulmarks and the story of that night intently, asking small questions about the heist and the fall off of the building; however, she did not once question how or why the two knew each other or too what end they were working towards. When they told her about the confession and the events that followed immediately after, she looked vaguely surprised.

“I mean, with a soulmark as elaborate as yours, and the situation you were in, it was no surprise that the magic would react in such a way, but it is completely unprecedented and highly unlikely that such a huge reaction will happen again.” Akako looked between the two of them thoughtfully for a while before speaking once more, “ I talked yesterday about what Nakamori-chan and Hakuba-kun brought to each other, the significance in each others’ half, and the two of you are no different and it seems quite obvious to me what your halves mean. From what you’ve told me, Kudo-kun, you had the wings, and Kuroba-kun, you had the color, correct?” The boys nodded in confirmation. “Then I believe the meanings are quite simple.” A devious smile graced Akako’s lips.

“Well if you're so knowledgeable, then bless us with your wisdom.” Kaito’s tone was snarky and agitation at the witch colored the tone making  Akako sigh.

“If you insist Kuroba. Kudo-kun was given a clear image of the what the future held and it helped his previous confidence in his soulmark. He was given the truth of the soulmark if you will. Kuroba-kun, you were given the color, the substance of the soulmark, which unfortunately did not help your feelings about soulmates. So Kuroba-kun, Shinichi brought you his structure, he brought you the truth, an outline to which you could rely on, and you brought Kudo-kun the color he needed into his life, would you two agree?” The soulmates nodded shyly, Akako continued, “The symbolism of freedom should be obvious, with the wings and such, but the gradient displayed is interesting. Understanding and faith, happiness and loyalty, enthusiasm and determination, and finally the color of love and courage. Not to mention most all of the colors are associated with brilliance or intelligence. Most importantly, the gradient brings forth the image of a sunset, which can mean the end of a journey, but I enjoy a different interpretation better.” A soft smile spread across Akako's lips, reaching her eyes, making her features much softer, “A sunset brings a promise of a new day.”

~~♡♤♡~~

Akako quickly changed the subject onto what their soulmark’s passive ability could be, because those wings were certainly for emergencies only. She tried everything she could think of, including trying to pull feathers off of their soulmark, which just ended with Kaito getting several red marks on his back from getting pinched about twenty times. Exasperated, Akako flopped back down into her seat, “I don’t know! Wings are so rare so there isn’t much data on the subject.” She let out another sigh, “Maybe you guys can talk to birds, become the Disney Princesses of your dreams.” Kaito snickered, which led to the other two to glare at him.

“Who knows, I do have plenty of birds I could converse with, I’ll ask them if they can help with the dishes when we get back home.” Shinichi groaned and put his head in his hands.

“Please don’t make me talk to your birds.”

“In any case,” Akako stood from the table, grabbing the other two’s attention, “We should head back, dinner will be served soon.”

The walk back to the house was short, but it felt far too long due to Kaito’s new obsession of trying to prove all of them ways they could be Disney certified in between some truly awful princess jokes. Dinner held a distinct lack of those, thankfully, and held some fun conversation. Anecdotes about childhood or dumb things that happened in school or what the other’s did with the day. Finally, as they reached the end of their meal, Ran spoke up. “Akako-chan, I really appreciate this lovely get away for the week, and I’m honored you invited me, but there is just one things that’s been bothering me, why did you invite me? I haven’t found my soulmate, and honestly I don’t know what could be missing from my soulmark.” Her hand went instinctively to the spot just below her collarbone Shinichi remembered seeing the ovular shaped scar.

“Would you mind showing it to me Mouri-chan?” Akako asked sweetly. Ran nodded and pulled the collar of her shirt down ever so slightly to show the soulmark that was now there. It looked like a large jewel, like the one that would be on a pendant, but it was about the size of an egg. It was a brilliant sapphire blue, like the color of Ran’s eyes, but something felt off about it, like there was something in the image was missing.

“That is why I invited you, Mouri-chan. I felt your presence on Kudo-kun when I met him, though this situation is quite rare.” Akako pulled down her shirt collar in the same way Ran did, displaying a soulmark of an sapphire blue, egg-sized jewel. “It is a very specific mark, and one that is not tying to another person. Most would refer to it as a witch’s mark, which is true, though it might sound off putting. We are a very special presence on Earth, though most people have forgotten our importance in this day and age. We are able to use magic unrelated to soulmarks as long as we have strong ties to pairs of soulmates, and, in exchange, we act as a friend and counselor, and each denomination is known for having a different effect on the pairs they are tied too. I’m glad to say, Mouri-chan, we are of the same denomination, one that was once recognized as the best. It used to be said the couples we tied ourselves to had a love that was immortal, like their souls would always be together no matter where or when they were, and the way you know which denomination you are is also quite special.” The sun had set by this point, and moonlight was slowly filtering into the dining room, and as the light hit Akako, everyone gasped, for Kaito and Shinichi, it was less in awe and more in fear as a red gem seemed to appear and glow like magic on Akako’s skin. “I always loved how we were referred to long ago, ‘ Getting in the way of Red Witches pairs is like opening Pandora’s box.’” The winged soulmates looked at one another.

This was not good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much to those who comment and leave Kudos! And if you aren't already reading Player 1's fic, I highly recommend it as it has one chapter left and I am very excited for P1's next project, and I'm sure you all will enjoy it as well! Despair is a bit heavier than mine, and it isn't a Kaishin, though it was originally intended to be, but be sure to check it out if you haven't already! Things are about to get serious in my fic and in P1's so be prepared! Also, you can find me on tumblr is you so wish at that-one-shutin.tumblr.com !


	20. A Silent Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shinichi can't handle all of this new found stress, and Katio is certainly not going to let him handle it on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is short, but I really wanted to focus on Shinichi's anxiety and how Kaito is trying to help, sweet boy. You can yell at me to write or ask questions over at that-one-shutin.tumblr.com if you feel like it!

Red Week should have been a fun trip, and for most of the group, it was. After Akako’s reveal, she spent most afternoons with Ran, teaching her the history and purpose of the Witch.  The soulmates were to spend time together, increasing the strength of their bond, but the winged pair was nowhere to be found after everyone separated at lunch. They were unusually quiet at meals and no one could pry anything out of them, when confronted, they would just smile and tell them they were fine.

In actuality, they were out wandering the woods. The silence and greenery that surrounded them helped them calm themselves as they discussed the threat that now faced those close to them. Shinichi in particular was panicked. He had worked so hard to protect Ran from the Black Organization, but now he has learned that she held an ability that they would kill, quite literally, to get their hands on. He would wake up in a cold sweat for weeks after, nightmares of the Org taking Ran and watching as they killed everyone she had ever had contact with. Kaito would gently rub his knuckles and talk in a soft voice as they walked through the forest, the bags under his eyes a dead giveaway of how his nights were spent. Shinichi would try to come up with a plan to how to deal with the situation, but he would always have to stop, his thoughts veering toward the horrors he saw in his sleep. Kaito would try to stop his soulmate from talking about the subject by trying to start a subject as far away from the topic as possible or promising they would deal with it when they returned home, but it was to no avail.

That is where they are now, sitting in a small opening in the canopy that they had found on their excursions. It was their last day and the sun was setting, but Kaito didn't want to push Shinichi to try to interact when he was so paranoid and just so _tired._ They had been sitting in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest when Shinichi suddenly spoke. “Hey, Kaito?” The magician gave a small hum of acknowledgement, “Can I come stay with you?” Kaito was slightly embarrassed, but looking at Shinichi as his soulmate rested his head against his shoulder, he knew that he needed his support.

“Of course you can. I would be glad to have you,” the magician said softly. He would never have thought he would have to speak to his detective this way, a quiet, comforting tone. Shinichi had always been on his level, never vulnerable, always a force of nature to be respected and feared, but seeing him like this… Kaito was just glad he could be here for his soulmate instead of leaving him to suffer alone.

“Could we leave now?” Shinichi’s question shook Kaito out of his thoughts.

“We could,” Kaito paused in thought, “but it would definitely worry everyone, especially Mouri-chan.” Shinichi gave a sad chuckle.

“Ran is to excited about being trained by Koizumi-san to worry about anyone else. Besides,” Shinichi breathed out a sigh, “ It would be nice to be away from everyone else, having them so close feels kind of suffocating.” Shinichi was smiling, but it wasn’t reaching his eyes, which were dull and sunken in from lack of sleep. Kaito could hardly stand to look at his detective like this, so close to breaking but to afraid to admit it. Kaito knew the feeling, he had lived like that for years, it helped him form his poker face. With a sigh, Kaito stood, Shinichi’s hand still held tightly in his.

“We can leave, if you’re of absolutely certain.” Shinichi gave a timid nod as he stood. “Okay, the edge of the property is just a little ways away from here, I can sneak into the house, grab our luggage and meet you back here. I’m assuming you don’t want to tell anyone we’re leaving.” Shinichi nodded in confirmation. Kaito pulled him into a hug with a “be back soon” and left quickly, leaving Shinichi in the fading evening light, gold streaming in through the full, green leaves, the soft floor of the forest beneath him. It was quiet, which Shinichi appreciated, but his quickly cooling hand ached for his soulmate to hold it again, his warm hands massaging his knuckles, reminding him that he didn’t need to face these problems alone anymore.

~~♡♤♡~~

Kaito made quick work of sneaking the luggage out of the vacation home. He wasn’t trying to be especially sneaky, he even waved at a couple of the security cameras which dotted the outside of the house, he didn’t want everyone to think they were kidnapped or some such after all. Shinichi’s things had already been completely packed and his suitcase was beside the door, like he had been planning to do this. Kaito took a little longer to get his things in order, but he didn’t worry to much about about packing effectively, he was more worried about leaving Shinichi by himself for too long. He was obviously at an incredibly vulnerable point, and if Kaito had any ability to help him, then of course he would do whatever he could.

Kaito was still a bit shaky with the whole “soulmate” thing. Of course he cared about Shinichi, he was incredibly kind, and he put faith in KID without knowing anything about him outside of the few heists he had attended. He was smart, and the kind of critic who could be silenced by an impressive display of magic, he had respect for KID and Kaito had respect for him before he learned the six-year-old was actually Kaito’s age. The idea that the universe decided to pair them together for the rest of their lives was insane, it made all of the interactions he had with Shinichi feel planned, scheduled, and it wasn’t Shinichi’s fault, Kaito could never blame Shinichi, but he didn’t know if these feelings were actually his or not.

Kaito shook the thoughts out of his head as he zipped up his suitcase and snuck out of his room. He could settle this after he was back in Ekoda, Shinichi deserved his full attention and there is a larger problem brewing just under the surface, invisible to everyone but Shinichi and himself. This was a game they needed to win.

~~♡♤♡~~

Shinichi was pacing the clearing when Kaito returned, in fact, he jumped when Kaito greeted him. The light was fading quickly and it did nothing to help Shinichi’s sunken eyes and hollowing face, but the worst might be the dull look which overtook his usual bright blue eyes. When Kaito looked at him he felt an intense urge to protect him, to crush whoever dare leave his detective in such a state. Luckily, Kaito was already planning to crush them. The Black Organization would pay for everything they had put him and those close to him through. Hell, he would make them pay for everything they’ve done to all of the people he didn’t know too.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Shinichi gave him a small, tired smile. God, did Shinichi just embodied the word tired. “I’m sorry you had to get my stuff too, did anyone see you?” Kaito set down the bags.

“No, but I did make sure I was on the security cameras, I didn’t want them to worry.” Shinichi let out a sigh and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a loud.

“Shinichi! Kuroba-kun! It’s time for dinner!” It was Ran’s voice, obviously yelling from back at the house, and God did Shinichi feel guilty for leaving her like this, she would worry, probably search for them when they never arrived for dinner, but the less time he spent around Ran, the better. With a quick turn, he picked up his suitcase and started walking toward the edge of the property.

“We need to hurry if we’re going to get back to Beika in time to pick up my things before Oji-san decides to lock up for the night.” Kaito didn’t reply, just followed behind his soulmate as he walked briskly away from what was sure to be their last vacation for quite a while.

~~♡♤♡~~

The train ride back to Beika was silent, made all the more eerie with the artificial train light only reflecting the inside of the car as they passed through the countryside. The train car was mostly empty, those who were on the train were secluded from one another, mostly night travelers who were trying to get some sleep before they arrived at their destination.The slow rattle of the train’s wheels did create an enticing lullaby, and with Shinichi pressed closely to his side, Kaito could feel sleep’s invitation calling for him.The only thing denying him of the gracious offer was Shinichi’s tight grip on his hand. It was a desperate hold, one that hadn’t loosened since they sat down on the train, one whose strength Kaito tried to match, tried to overpower. Shinichi’s grip radiated his anxiety while Kaito just wanted to convey to him that he was safe, that everything was going to be okay.

He couldn’t find the right way to start conversation with Shinichi, what with his soulmate’s knees pulled close to his chest, maybe not the greatest train etiquette, but it didn’t seem like anyone would mind. The detective’s head was buried in his knees too, and it would easy to think he was sleeping, but the detective’s hand crushed that hopeful theory, a sleeping man could have such an iron grip. Kaito was resigned to his quiet fate, not that the silence particularly bothered him, but he just wished he could do more in this moment to ease his soulmate’s pain. The magician stared out of the window, desperately wishing he could catch a glimpse at the countryside, serene and still. One could argue the train was still, but it wasn’t the same, it was still like a war-torn town, dangerously silent with pain and despair lingering in the air.

Shinichi squeezed his hand tighter, just by a fraction, but Kaito noticed and understood, he was thinking again, well, his detective was always thinking about something, more specifically he was thinking about the mess they now found themselves in, the giant, swinging axe which was slowly lowering, forcing them to watch their impending demise. Kaito squeezed back and leaned into Shinichi, and Kaito could feel tears bleed into his shirt as the detective pulled his head from his knees and bury it into the thief’s shoulder. Kaito smiled to himself, he was a thief. An elusive phantom who has escaped whatever trap that had been laid before him, he wasn’t about to let some Poe-like fate become him.


	21. When Fear Creeps In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaito is a good host, Shinichi needs to destress, and birds are good friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively, in which I accidentally write more angst.
> 
> Also, Player 1 and I spent 4 hours making playlists for all of our fics. [Click here to see Love's.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4QZV0U641jSkrAqLVTQsBVWMr2IZxSbs)

Shinichi was able to quickly gather the rest of his belongings from the Mouri household, thankfully Mouri was still awake, a rerun of some Okino Yoko drama was having a marathon, and the man was thankful to get “the detective brat” out of his house. Shinichi knew it was Mouri’s usual reaction to him, but it still stung a little, something that the appearance of Kaito behind him made up for, the look on Mouri’s face was priceless, like Shinichi had been cloned into a messier, more mischievous looking version, though the expression Kaito was wearing showed no sign of his usual nature, but of a silent melancholy. His introduction as Shinichi’s soulmate, bewildered Mouri even further, but the small joy it brought Shinichi only lasted a second or two, as the lingering fear always reminded him of its existence, though Shinichi tried as hard as he could to not let it show.

It was another short train ride to Ekoda, where they walked the rest of the way to the Kuroba residence. The street was lit by the dying yellow light of the streetlamps and the faint glow of the waning moon. It was quiet, the walk mostly filled with the sounds of the pair’s footsteps, the low rattle of the suitcases’ wheels, and the chirping of crickets. Kaito desperately wanted to start conversation, to try to lift his soulmate’s spirit, but the weight of the silence was an impenetrable wall. Kaito wasn't used to be the one who had to struggle with this wall, and he made a mental note to tell Aoko just how much she meant to him, and how sorry he was for shutting her out all of those times.

Shinichi made himself busy by looking around Kaito’s home as the magician unlocked the front door and lead his soulmate inside. It was the same as the last time Shinichi had seen it, but he had been so overwhelmed by the whole soulmate thing that he hadn’t had the time to fully analyze the house. It was incredibly tidy, as if Kaito barely used the other rooms in the house or he was just incredibly conscience of a mess, which Shinichi found to be highly unlikely for a teenage boy. The house had a comforting smell, clean, but not sterile, with a warm, inviting undertone, it was similar to Kaito’s smell, something that Shinichi was now familiar with after burying his face into his soulmate’s side for most of a train ride.

“Come on, Shinichi.” The thief’s words shook the detective from his deductions as he recognized his soulmate was waiting patiently by the stairs. Shinichi briskly walked over to meet him, at which point Kaito took the majority of Shinichi’s luggage and started up the stairs, making sure his soulmate was following behind him. Kaito deposited Shinichi’s luggage into his room and left, only to quickly return with a spare futon. “You can take the bed, I’m fine on the futon, besides, you need more rest than I do.” Shinichi gave him a soft smile in response, thankful for Kaito’s understanding. “I’m going to go start up a bath, so you can make yourself comfortable,” Kaito said as he left the room, pausing at the door for just a brief moment to receive acknowledgement from Shinichi before exiting from his soulmate's view.

Now alone, Shinichi let out a sigh as he sat down on Kaito’s bed, looking around the room. He was in here before, when the pair had first looked at their completed soulmarks, therefore he hadn’t thought about examining the room. Now he looked at everything attentively. The small scuffs in the floor, the small boxes on top of neatly organized shelves, and the small table which currently held a clutter of school books and a few decks of cards. The one object in the room which drew Shinichi’s attention the most was the full length poster of Kuroba Toichi, a name Shinichi recognized, as his mother often spoke about her wonderful disguise teacher, the same teacher who also taught Vermouth. “No wonder KID is known as a master of disguise,” Shinichi mused, a slight smile pulled across his lips as he thought about his soulmate, God he was so in love.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Kaito’s sudden appearance in the doorway made Shinichi jump slightly. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the doorframe and a smirk was firmly planted on his face. “You were finally smiling, and I was curious what would bring you out of your funk.” A furious blush rushed into Shinichi’s checks, embarrassed that he had been caught smiling just because he was thinking about his soulmate. With a cough, he tried, and failed, to suppress his blush.

“I was just thinking about, uh, you…” The end of his sentence trailed off as Shinichi refused to make eye contact, missing the opportunity to see a bright red flush cover Kaito’s cheeks. The next thing the detective knew, his soulmate’s arms were tightly wrapped around him.

“Shinichi,” Kaito drew out the last syllable, “you can’t be this cute, it’s illegal.” Shinichi sputtered quite elegantly.

“Shut up, it’s not my fault you look in that stupid top hat.”  Kaito squeaked and buried his head into Shinichi’s shoulder.

“Before you murder me, you should go take a bath, I left a towel out for you, feel free to take your time.” Shinichi hummed in acknowledgement before he stood, causing Kaito to release the detective from his tight embrace.

~~♡♤♡~~

It had been a few weeks since Shinichi had come to stay at the Kuroba residence, and the detective had refused to answer the multitude of Ran’s worried texts, forcing the poor girl to have to text Aoko to ask Kaito about his soulmate. Aoko came over a multitude of times, but Kaito never answered the door, afraid the girl’s presence would remind Shinichi of the one thing Kaito was trying to keep his mind off of. Unlike his soulmate, however, Kaito answered Aoko’s worried texts, telling her that they were both fine, that they just wanted to get to know each other on their own; it wasn’t a complete lie, at least, Kaito was trying to make the best of the situation to try to get to know his soulmate on a more personal level.

In the mornings, Kaito would manage to not burn breakfast, sometimes with Shinichi’s help, and they would talk over their meal about whatever suited their fancy that particular morning. It was usually Kaito who started their conversations, as Shinichi always seemed to be stuck on whatever nightmare he had the previous night. The detective never seemed to have a good dream, though it seemed he was at least getting more rest than he had during Red Week; however, the small whimpers and frantic movements Kaito’s soulmate would make during the night would wake the other up. Kaito found that if he sat on the bed and held Shinichi’s hand, the detective would calm down, even if it was only just slightly. Kaito never asked about the nightmares and Shinichi never seemed interested in telling Kaito about them.

One of the daily routines which seemed to help Shinichi the most was feeding Kaito’s doves. Kaito’s father had built a small aviary in their attic for the birds and made sure to install a heating/cooling system to make sure the birds were always comfortable and happy. Sometimes Kaito would retreat there if he had a particularly bad day or if he was missing his father. His mother would often brings meals up to the aviary after Toichi died to make sure Kaito would eat. It had become a place of comfort and the magician had furnished the space with a few bean bags, a rug, and a pile of blankets. The birds were glad for the company, which usually came with meals and treats, and they were elated when Kaito brought Shinichi up for the first time.

The birds flocked to him immediately, excited about the newcomer who looked similar to their usual visitor, and Shinichi took an instant liking to them as well. Perhaps it was due to their soulmark, but it felt as if they could better understand the doves. The ruffle of feathers a certain way, the pitch and length of a coo, and it appeared the doves would react to the boys’ comments the like they could understand them as well. Most afternoons were spent in the aviary, relaxing in bean bags covered by a blanket as the doves perched on them and they talked to the birds. Sometimes Kaito would perform small tricks including the birds, trying to elicit a smile from Shinichi when he would start to drift back into his head.

Which lead to their evenings. Shinichi usually became completely inconsolable by the time they finished dinner and he would start to pace, and worry, and mutter under his breath about how to take down the Black Organization. Kaito would try to catch his attention, call his name, make elaborate gestures, most of which usually went unnoticed by the detective, and it was only when Kaito brought a dove down from the attic did the soft, worried coos pull Shinichi’s attention away from his poisonous thoughts. Shinichi’s face would instantly soften at the bird’s small chirps and he would walk over in order to comfort the small creature. After Kaito made this revelation, he never spent the evenings without one of his doves.

“Shinichi,” Kaito finally said one evening, his worry overwhelming his wish to avoid the subject, “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, it’s driving you insane.” Shinichi’s hand stilled from where it was gently stroking a dove’s feathers, he gave Kaito a look of betrayal and suddenly stood from where he was seated at the kitchen table, causing the dove to fly to Kaito where it worriedly cooed, Kaito gave it a small, consolatory scratch as he looked worriedly at Shinichi who was continuing to back away from the table. A small “Shinichi?” escaped his lips as he watched his soulmate distance himself from Kaito with a look that could only be described as horror.

“You can’t mean that!” Shinichi’s voice was loud in the otherwise silence of the Kuroba house, eliciting another frightened coo from the dove now perched on Kaito’s shoulder. “You can’t say that Kaito! We need to do this! _I_ need to do this! They’re in danger! _Everyone_ is in danger! We can’t sit by and do nothing anymore! We-” Shinichi’s voice was elevating into a full on yell when Kaito interrupted him.

“Shinichi!” He did yell, startling the dove off of him, which caused the magician to feel sorry for the creature, but Shinichi stopped, a scared expression on his face. “ _This_ isn’t helping anybody. You pacing and muttering won’t help anybody. You sneaking over to the desk in the middle of the night when you think I’m asleep and furiously writing down different scenarios in which you could take down the Black Org, none of which are remotely possible since you think you could do it on your own, won’t save _anybody_. You are just slowly killing yourself and I can’t just let you anymore!” A heavy silence hung in the air for what felt like centuries before Shinichi softly spoke.

“If I don’t do this, then who will? You just have to ignore me, let me do this, I _have_ to do this!” Kaito could hear the telltale breaths of crying, the sharp inhales punctuating Shinichi’s sentence.

“I can’t just ignore you.” Kaito’s voice was level, a lack of emotion in his voice.

“And why not, Kaito! It would be so easy, all you have to do is look the other way!” Shinichi was the exact opposite, all emotion, none of the usual intelligent thought the detective prided himself on.

“I can’t look the other way because it would mean I would be I would be losing the one person who is supposed to always be with me, the one person who is always supposed to never abandon me, damn it Shinichi, if I let you do this it would mean I would _lose my soulmate_ , and I can’t let you do this because _I love you_ .” Kaito finally raised his voice, only for it to fall back into a small, afraid tone. Kaito’s eyes stung, and he struggled to maintain his poker face, finally letting it go to release small sobs of his own, burying his head into the table as he cried. “I can’t lose you too,” was what the small, muffled voice said from it’s place between Kaito’s arms and the table. Shinichi stood, shocked, speechless, and most of all just so _sorry_. The pair hadn’t uttered the word ‘love’ since they had confessed to one another almost a month ago now, and of course Kaito was afraid, he had already suffered too much loss in his life. The dove, who had now come to rest by Kaito’s buried head, cooed softly, trying to soothe Kaito’s pain and encourage him that it would all be alright.

The detective slowly walked over to where his soulmate was softly crying into the table, God he was an idiot, this was his _soulmate_ his energetic, mischievous, adorable soulmate, and he had made him worry to the point he would break down and cry. Kaito’s soft sobs caused the same sharp inhalations Kaito observed in Shinichi just moments before, and Shinichi’s own tears slightly blurred his vision as he sat down and placed a gentle hand on the magician’s back, causing his to stiffen at the touch. “I love you too,” Shinichi’s voice was raw from the yelling and crying, causing him to speak softly, sincerity filling his words. He carefully moved his hand to hold one of Kaito’s, squeezing it and placing a small kiss on the back. “Of course I love you, the way you laugh, your idiotic bravery, your stupid pranks, your intolerable smirk, the way you smile like the world has just given you the best gift, I love everything that you are, Kuroba Kaito, and I’m so, so _sorry_ , and I will never, ever let you lose me.”

~~♡♤♡~~

That night, Shinichi and Kaito silently walked upstairs and crawled into Kaito’s bed, facing one another, hand in hand as they both silently cried, trying to comfort one another and reassure the other of their presence, the soft noises of the night dulled by the walls of the house, the gentle coos of the dove they neglected to return to the aviary, and the exhaustion from crying slowly but surely lulled them into sleep, and if their soulmark was radiating a gentle, soothing warmth, neither of them seemed to notice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my tumblr [here](https://that-one-shutin.tumblr.com).


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